TMNT 2003: I'm Nothing to Them
by Clovee93
Summary: Mikey is given a hard time when his brothers constantly let all their frustration and anger out on him, to a point where it's making Mikey feel depressed and lonely. Will his brothers realise the damage being done to him or will it be too late? Takes place sometime after the turtles returned to their own time and Master Splinter was scattered in Cyberspace. I do not own TMNT 2003.
1. Part 1-Hated

TMNT 2003: I'm Nothing to Them

_Mikey is given a hard time with his brothers constantly letting all their frustration and anger out on him and telling him how much of a useless screw-up he is, to a point where it's making Mikey feel depressed and lonely. Will his brothers realise the damage being done to him or will it be too late? _

_Takes place sometime after the turtles returned to their own time and Master Splinter was scattered in Cyberspace. _

_I do not own TMNT 2003. _

_**Warning: Contain scenes of depression, signs of self-harm, and attempted suicide.**_

_/_

Part 1-Hated

_"Look what you've done, Mikey! Master Splinter is lost in Cyberspace because of you and your big mouth!"_

_"Screwin' up in missions is bad enough, but what ya did back there was da worst thing ya ever did! Da one who should be lost in Cyberspace in pieces should've been _YOU_!"_

_"Mikey…Just…leave us alone…you've already done enough damage to our family…In fact, I don't know if we can ever trust you again after what just happened…"_

_"Yeah…And ya not gonna be on our team anymore either cos ya nothin' but a screw-up and disaster bringer ta us… so, consider yourself as no longer our brother anymore too…"_

_"That's right…our friendship is also done…so, just go away and let me work on getting father back since you'll just make things worse as always!"_

The voices from a few days ago rang and echoed in Mikey's mind whilst he was preparing breakfast for his brothers. Despite being able to cook the food, he felt so numb and the colour in his eyes was dull and filled with sadness.

He just couldn't believe that his own brothers would say such cruel words to him when it was actually Viral's fault for ruining everything, but once again, all the blame was pointed at him just because he was trying to help them.

The tears in his eyes began to fall when he thought about Master Splinter. His father had sacrificed himself to save him and his brothers from the decompiler blast, but to him, it was the third time now that Master Splinter took a hit for him and that made him feel even worse as a ninja and a son because he thought that, by now, he was becoming a better ninja after taking part in training more and being graduated to Chunin. However, after what happened during their travel back to their own time a few days ago, it turned out that this was clearly not the case.

"I'm so sorry, father…" Mikey whispered before he sniffled and wiped his tears away, though they just kept coming and falling each time he does that.

The sounds of footsteps immediately snapped him out of his thoughts and he began to plate up the now cooked breakfasts onto each respective plate and placed them on the table for his brothers, who all appeared and took their seats at the table when they saw their favourite hot drinks on it as well.

"Heh, at least he's done _somethin'_ right and not messed up our breakfasts…" Raph spoke up first with a snide tone and smirk as he looked back and forth from his breakfast to Mikey.

"Hmph…" Donnie hummed firmly in agreement with Raph's words whilst avoiding eye contact with his immediate younger brother, who said nothing in response to their actions and walked towards the sink to start with the washing up.

Even though Leo said nothing to either side, he noticed that there were only three plates instead of four like usual, causing him to feel both confused and concerned before he turned to Mikey and spoke.

"Mikey? Where's your breakfast?"

"…" Mikey didn't answer Leo's question and continued with the dish-washing.

'_What's the point in answering him? It'll just make things worse, anyways…_' He thought sadly to himself.

"Hey, Mikey McScrew-Up! Leo just asked ya a question, so answer him already!" Raph suddenly shouted out towards Mikey, causing him and the others to jump slightly with how loud it was.

"I already ate…" Mikey answered quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear after he had let out a sigh knowing that they would not stop bothering him until he answered them. He also said this without turning his head to look at his brothers.

"Mikey, I know you're lying…tell me the truth, please…!" Leo then said firmly, having none of it with Mikey's current behaviour. Mikey was about to respond but Raph spoke up first.

"Forget it, Leo! Whether he's lyin' or not doesn't make a difference, cos none of us cares if he stops eatin' and starves ta death. In fact, it would be better if he was no longer with us since we don't need him and his screw-ups anymore!"

Mikey gasped with wide eyes after what he had just heard from Raph's mouth whilst Leo and Donnie looked at the red-banded brother with wide eyes and shocked looks on their faces.

"Oh, come on, you two! I know dat ya both feel da same way as me…!" Raph then said as he looked at Leo and Donnie in disbelief.

"I…" Leo spoke but didn't know what to say next as he was caught in a tug-of-war with his feelings; one part of him wanted to agree with Raph, but the other part didn't and wanted to correct him. Donnie, on the other hand, nodded and spoke.

"I do agree with you, Raph. Even though I don't want anything bad to happen to Mikey health-wise, I just can't stand to look at him right now because he reminds me of what happened during our journey back to our own time. I want him gone…in fact, he should be lost in Cyberspace, not father…"

Leo looked at both Raph and Donnie with widened eyes when they agreed with one another about Mikey in such a harsh way. Out of the three older brothers, Leo was slowly starting to move on from what happened days ago and was planning to talk to Mikey about how he should redeem himself for his actions, but now he didn't know what to do; agree with his brothers or stand against their words. At the corner of his eye, his heart was about to break when he saw Mikey with his head turned halfway and looking at him, Raph, and Donnie with dull but frustrated eyes.

Earlier, Mikey felt like he was about to have a heart attack as his body began to shake from shock after what he had just heard and he was trying really hard not to break down in front of his brothers. Having had enough of being treated like a hated criminal, he turned his head halfway to look at his brothers and snapped.

"Will you guys…just…LET IT GO ALREADY!?"

The three older brothers froze and looked over at a now teary-eyed Mikey with shocked and surprised looks on their faces before they heard the orange-banded turtle speak again.

"Look, I get it, ok!? I'm sorry! I know that what I did wasn't the best thing I've ever done, but we're not gonna get Master Splinter, our father, back fast enough if this keeps going on. If you want me to pay for my actions, then I'll be happy to go into Cyberspace right now, by myself, and gather all the data bits so that we can have our father back home!"

By now, Mikey's eyes were constantly streaming with tears and he was trying but failing to stop them whilst he continued to look at his brothers with a sad but determined look on his face.

After a moment, Leo began to realise that Mikey really was being genuine with his words and wanted to fix his mistakes, even though he still felt unsure about whether or not Mikey would stay true to his words and fix what he did. Raph and Donnie, however, were not so sympathetic and they looked from shocked to angry within seconds after hearing Mikey's words.

"Why da shell would we trust _you _ta get our dad back!? And there is no 'we' in dis, cos ya not on da team anymore!" Raph said angrily.

"Yeah, and you don't know a thing about how our new technology works! In fact, you'll just make things worse as soon as you set foot in Cyberspace, so you can forget about that idea, Mikey because it won't happen on my watch!" Donnie said firmly in agreement with Raph's words.

"Guys-" Leo tried to speak in order to get his brothers to take a minute to calm down, but he was instantly cut off by Raph.

"Shut it, Leo! Ya gonna need your head examined if ya decidin' ta take dis disaster bringer's side!"

This caused Leo to back down slightly with a frustrated look before Raph turned back to Mikey and moved closer to him as he spoke again.

"Listen, you…no matter what ya say or do, you will always be nothing but a screw-up dat will bring everyone to their deaths, especially Master Splinter!"

"That's right! Face it, Mikey; nobody cares about what you say to us because you never keep your promises and will constantly let us down, even when we needed you most…and for that, we all _hate_ _you_ for it!" Donnie said firmly with a deadly glare at his immediate younger brother.

Mikey looked at both Raph and Donnie with a terrified and shocked look on his face before he lowered his head in shame and guilt. He wanted to believe that this was all a nightmare and that he should be waking up any minute to escape from it, but he really was wide awake and everything that was happening in front of him was real.

"Raph…Donnie…That's enough…"

Leo was then heard speaking in a firm and calm tone as he slowly approached Raph and placed a hand on his shoulder to try a get him to back away from Mikey, which had worked because Raph turned around to glare at Leo for disturbing his and Donnie's 'lecture' on Mikey.

"Leo…!" Raph said angrily through gritted teeth whilst Donnie gave the blue-banded turtle an annoyed glare.

"Listen, I understand how you both feel about Mikey, but if you really want to save Master Splinter, then I suggest that you leave Mikey be and go do what needs to be done to get our father back…" Leo said immediately, leaving no room for arguments.

Raph and Donnie took a moment to let Leo's words sink into their minds before they sighed and looked at Mikey once more.

"Fine…just as long as _he_ stays outta our way!" Raph said as he pointed at Mikey before he left the dining area.

"Yeah…We already know our place in this family, Mikey…it's time that you learned yours…" Donnie then said in disappointment before he left and headed towards the computer area to continue with his work on finding Master Splinter.

Once Raph and Donnie were out of sight, Leo turned to Mikey, who had hardly said a word during the rest of the argument and was instead just standing there and biting his bottom lip. He also noticed that Mikey's body was shaking a bit with both his hands clenched into fists.

"Mikey…" Leo called out to his youngest brother in a firm but soft tone. When he received no response from him, Leo became concerned and tried again.

"Mikey…Talk to me…"

He moved closer to Mikey and was about to place a hand on his shoulder when the orange-banded turtle backed away and lifted his watery face up to look at him, surprising Leo when he saw the state that Mikey was in.

"N-No…Don't…t-they're right… me being around you all…will only bring nothing but disaster…t-they've already lost one brother and a father, I'm not gonna let them lose you too because of _me_…I-I'm sorry!" Mikey said shakily and sadly as he let out a small sob and more tears began to fall from his dull eyes before he turned and ran away from a shocked Leo.

"Mikey, wait!" Leo called out to his little brother, but it was too late as Mikey reached his room and shut the door hard.

Leo ran a hand down his face as he sighed. It was early in the morning and things had already gotten out of control emotionally, and what was hard for Leo was that even though he understood the reasons why Raph and Donnie scolded Mikey in such a hard way, he felt that his brothers went a bit too far and made Mikey feel even worse about himself and the situation at hand.

"Oh, Master Splinter…if only you were here…you'd know what to do…" Leo whispered sadly to himself as he continued to look at Mikey's bedroom door for another minute before he walked away to go and meditate to clear his mind, leaving all three now cold breakfasts untouched.


	2. Part 2-Pain

Part 2-Pain

_In Mikey's bedroom…_

Mikey was in pitch-black darkness whilst curled up on his bed with a pillow hugged close to his body as he continued to sob his heart out.

He couldn't believe that his own brothers turned him down and scolded him heatedly when he said that he would be happy to fix his mistakes and help them bring Master Splinter back home. He just couldn't understand why they would do that to him.

All Mikey knew now was that none of his brothers wanted him anywhere near them and couldn't stand the sight of him. Even though he knew that Leo was unsure of how to speak to him, Mikey felt that his oldest brother was feeling the same way as Raph and Donnie deep down.

Sometime later, Mikey sat up from his position as he settled down from his crying episode, turned on his bedside lamp and went to pick up an old but well-cared-for book from under his bed. On the front cover, the words '_Family Memories_' was written on it and Mikey opened it to reveal a number of photographs, both old and new, meaning that it was a photo album.

The first few pages that Mikey looked through contained photos of when the turtles were just tots; one featured all four of them together in the bathtub wearing happy faces, another featured Leo giving a tearful Mikey a hug after he was picked on by Raph, and there were also a few photos that showed them doing their first training session after choosing their weapons.

Mikey smiled faintly as he looked at the photos but he then saddened when he saw the photos of when he first started baking and cooking for his family, who were all smiling with joy when they tried his food, and when his brothers tried to do it themselves but ended up causing disastrous results. Cooking was something that Mikey was proud of doing and it helped him be more helpful to his brothers when they weren't training or out on patrol.

"What good will this do for them now? They didn't even eat their breakfasts that I made them this morning…" Mikey whispered to himself with a sigh before he closed his eyes and a couple of tears fell down his face. He closed the album and hugged it close to his chest.

All those memories in that album were his only reminder of the happier and fun times they had together as brothers and as a family, but these became less and less frequent as he and his brothers got older and trained more as ninjas. This was because each of the turtles had grown with their own personalities and interests; Leo was a serious born-leader and would risk his own life to protect his family, Raph became short-tempered but he turns that into power to help keep his brothers and father safe, Donnie was smart and had developed a passion for inventing, and Mikey continued to be a kid-at-heart turtle and brought light to the family.

Now, ever since the time travel incident, his brothers have lost their trust in him and decided to isolate him from what was their most important mission; saving and bringing home Master Splinter from Cyberspace. All because he wanted to try and help his family get back home safe and away from Viral who caused this mess in the first place.

"I didn't ask for this to happen…I never wanted to be the one who messes everything up just cos I was there…why can't they understand that!?" Mikey said in a firm but quiet tone before he remembered what Raph and Donnie said to him earlier.

_'No matter what ya say or do, you will always be useless and nothing but a screw-up dat will bring everyone to their deaths, especially Master Splinter!'_

_'Nobody cares about what you say to us because you never keep your promises and will constantly let us down, even when we needed you most…and for that, we all hate you for it! __We already know our place in this family, Mikey…it's time that you learned yours…'_

Those words broke his heart; he never knew that his brothers thought that way about him until now. Mikey lifted his right armband and looked at his wrist; in the middle of his wrist were two small but thick scabby lines that were made around a couple of days ago, meaning that he had chosen the option of self-harm not long after the incident and when his brothers first scolded him. It was his way of punishing himself for his own actions.

"They're right…I don't know my true place in this family…and cos of that…I'm nothing to them…" He said in a heartbreaking tone before he took out a small kunai blade from his belt and aimed it at the same wrist in between the two lines before he spoke again with more tears falling from his eyes.

"I deserve this pain…cos I should have done more…instead of being so useless…and allowing Master Splinter to take the hit for us…for _me_…"

Slash! Slash!

Mikey added two more lines to his already marked wrist and allowed the dark crimson liquid to leave the wounds, dribble down his green skin, and drop onto his mattress sheet for a whole minute, before he reached for the secret first aid kit, which he had put together for events like this, from under his bed and took out a bandage, two gauze sheets, and antiseptic wipes from it to start the process of cleaning and binding the wounds.

After wrapping his wrist with the bandage and placed his armband back over it again, Mikey began to feel tired due to the slight blood loss so he decided that he should have a nap on his bed to regain his strength. Before doing so, he took off his mask and looked at it with sad and broken eyes.

"I don't have the right to wear this anymore…It should be worn by a real ninja, unlike me…" He said tearfully before he placed his mask inside a box and hid it under the bed so that he wouldn't have to look at it again.

After doing that, Mikey laid his head down onto the pillow and fell asleep seconds later, but not without letting a couple of more tears fall first.

/

_Leo's side..._

Leo was sitting cross-legged on the mat in his bedroom with his eyes closed and his breathing was slow but even, meaning that he was in deep meditation. There were also lit incense candles in a circle that was surrounding him and giving out a strong but gentle scent to help him relax better.

He needed to calm and clear his mind because it was early morning and things had already gotten heated during breakfast. In fact, he was so caught up in what had happened earlier that he had completely forgotten about his own breakfast, resulting in him having an empty and grumbling stomach to deal with whilst he was meditating.

Leo was now in the astral plane and was starting to relax a bit more since there was nothing around him that would disturb or threaten him. Suddenly, he sensed a change in one area of the astral plane; an aura that felt familiar but it also felt negative at the same time.

'What was that?' He thought to himself before he moved towards the area where the strange sensation was coming from.

As soon as he approached the area, he noticed a small ball of warm orange-coloured energy floating in mid-air in front of him. The colour and warmth of the energy sphere made Leo smile and made him want to touch it, but as he reached out to do so, a dark aura wave suddenly covered the sphere and prevented Leo from coming any closer to it.

Then, a faint muffled voice could be heard from behind the curtain of darkness.

_'Don't know my place… nothing to them… I deserve … pain … so… useless… allowing… Splinter to take… hit… for us… me…'_

"That voice…is that…Mikey's?" Leo said with wide eyes when he recognised the voice of his youngest brother Mikey, and he saddened when he heard the way his youngest brother was speaking because he sounded heartbroken and miserable.

A moment later, the dark aura quickly began to expand and pushed Leo away from the area, so hard that it kicked him out of the astral plane altogether.

Leo gasped and opened his eyes as he panted whilst returning to his senses from his meditation before he slowly stood up from his cross-legged position and took a moment to recollect himself after what he just experienced during his trip in the astral plane.

After he calmed himself down, he began to piece together what that orange ball of energy really was and why a shroud of dark aura was covering it like a barrier from those who would come near it.

"If that really _was _Mikey's voice that I heard, then that orange sphere must be Mikey's spirit that I saw in the astral plane…but why was it suddenly covered in a dark aura…?" He thought aloud quietly to himself before he started to feel concerned for his orange-banded brother on how upset Mikey's voice sounded.

It's true that Leo was equally disappointed and upset with Mikey for making things worse during their struggle back to their own time, but out of the three older brothers, he never saw him as a bad person and knew deep down that Mikey never really meant to allow things to go from bad to worse during their journey home from the future.

With concern and worry filling his heart, Leo decided to go and check how Mikey was doing since the last time he saw him was when he broke down and ran straight to his room. He blew out his candles and made his way out of his own room to head for Mikey's room.

/

_Mikey's room…_

Leo reached Mikey's room and when he tested the door to see if his baby brother had locked it, he was surprised to see that it was unlocked so he slowly and quietly opened the door slightly and poked his head through the gap to take a peek inside.

The first thing Leo noticed was that Mikey's room was dark and he could hear the faint sounds of snoring in the right corner of the room, so he carefully opened the door a bit wider and let himself in to investigate further. It was then that he saw, through squinted eyes due to the darkness, his baby brother laying on his bed asleep with his shell-covered back facing the door and his blanket covering him up to his head. The blanket also covered up the blood patch on Mikey's bed, making Leo oblivious to what Mikey did to himself earlier.

When Leo got closer to the bed, his eyes saddened when he saw Mikey's now maskless face; it was full of pain and covered with now dried tears, and he could also hear Mikey groan and sniffle quietly whilst he slept.

Even though he wanted so badly to wake his baby brother up and ask him where his mask was and if he was ok, he knew that it could make things worse and might not get a lot of answers from Mikey whilst in this state. With this in mind, Leo leaned over and gave Mikey a gentle kiss on his head before he silently left the room and closed the door behind him.

Shortly after this, Leo sighed sadly after what he had just seen seconds ago. He never knew how hurt Mikey really was until the trip in the astral plane revealed it to him.

After taking a moment to recollect himself, Leo decided that he would wait until Mikey was awake and moving around again before he could have a word with him about his current feelings. In the meantime, he walked away from the door and headed towards the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea to help calm his nerves.


	3. Part 3-Scared

Part 3-Scared

_3 hours later…_

Mikey slowly began to stir from his sleep and he opened his eyes to see nothing but darkness in his room since he turned his light off earlier. He was still feeling a little groggy but he regained his senses after a few minutes of sitting on the edge of his bed. His right wrist was still sore and when he checked the dressing, he noticed that a large patch of blood had developed during his nap but it seemed to have stopped even though the patch was still wet.

Despite having a good nap, it did not help Mikey feel better in his now depressed state, because the words that Raph and Donnie said to him both today and a few days ago had struck him too deeply in the heart. As a result of this, Mikey has lost all touch of his fun and happy spirit and was instead replaced with fear and spiritual self-loss.

Soon, Mikey began to feel anxious and unsure if he should leave his room and do something else in the lair since there was a chance that his brothers might attack him verbally again as soon as they see him. However, he remembered that he left his sketchbook in the TV area and he was in the mood to do some drawing, which he felt was the only thing that wouldn't cause harm or disaster to those around him.

With this in mind, Mikey took a deep breath and stood up from his bed to make his way out of his room. He slowly and carefully opened his door to avoid attracting unwanted attention before he walked out of his room altogether.

Mikey cautiously and nervously took a look around the lair to see if there were any signs of his older brothers in the lair, but he didn't see any of them at first until he looked over at the kitchen. His eyes then widened when he saw Leo in there preparing what Mikey theorised to be a cup of herbal tea, but luckily for him, he noticed that Leo had his back turned and didn't know that Mikey had left his room. The young turtle quietly sighed in relief before he started to slowly walk past his oldest brother to avoid being detected.

Eventually, Mikey managed to reach the TV area and soon spotted his sketchbook and pencils on the coffee table.

"Oh, good…it's still here… and no-one's opened it or messed with it either…" He whispered in relief before he picked the sketchbook and pencils up. As he was about to turn around and leave, however;

"Mikey?"

The voice of his oldest brother Leo was suddenly heard from behind him, causing him to gasp and jump slightly before he turned around slowly to look at him with scared eyes.

"Hey, Mikey…it's good to see you out of your room…I was starting to get worried…" Leo said gently whilst keeping his experience in both the astral plane and Mikey's room a secret for now since he didn't want his baby brother to get worried or upset.

"E-Erm…" Mikey didn't know what to say to his oldest brother. In fact, he couldn't even look at him in the eye due to how scared and nervous he was feeling towards him.

"Are you…doing ok? Where's your mask?" Leo then asked him when he noticed that Mikey wasn't wearing his mask still before he took a step forward, but this caused Mikey to take a step backward whilst clutching his sketchbook a bit tighter.

"I-I'm just…here for this…that's all…" Mikey answered shakily. "A-And I don't deserve…to wear my mask…I put it away…"

"Huh? Bro, what's-" Leo tried to ask Mikey what was bothering him, but he was instantly cut off by his youngest brother who was starting to develop tears in his eyes.

"I-I'm…not your brother anymore…remember? S-Same with…Raph and Donnie…"

This caused Leo's eyes and mouth to widen in shock when he heard those words coming from Mikey's mouth. He couldn't believe that his own baby brother would say such a thing to him whilst avoiding eye contact with him. However, Leo soon realised why Mikey would be feeling this way in the first place; the lecture that he was given by his own brothers shortly after their return home from the future as well as the argument at breakfast this morning.

Before Leo could respond to Mikey's words, the sounds of the cyber portal activating rung out through the lair, resulting in Mikey becoming panicky and start to make a run for his room since he knew who would be coming through that portal soon.

"Mikey, wait! What's wrong!?" Leo called out as he reached and grabbed Mikey's right wrist, the hidden wrappings of which were still damp from his last 'self-punishment'.

"I-I gotta go…I-I shouldn't be here…" Mikey responded before he shook his right arm hard, causing Leo to lose his grip and let go. He then quickly made a beeline back to his room and closed the door just as Raph and Donnie appeared from the portal, leaving Leo confused and dumbfounded.

"Mikey…" Leo said with a frustrated sigh before he looked at his hand when he noticed a faint tint of red covering his fingers.

'What's this? Paint…or blood?' He thought to himself before an anxious feeling began to build up in his heart when he said the last part.

_/_

_Mikey's room…_

Mikey was sitting on his bed once more with his sketchbook held close to his chest as his heart raced and his breathing quickened with panic.

"I shouldn't have left my room…Now Leo's gonna find out…and he'll tell the others…I'm just gonna make things worse for them…and slow them down in their mission to save da-...Master Splinter…I'm really am such a stupid…useless…screw-up…!" He whispered to himself as he slowly rocked back and forth on the bed.

All he wanted to do was to get his sketchbook and go back to his room to do some drawing, but he never expected one of his brothers, Leo, to come out of nowhere and start asking him questions that he really did not feel comfortable answering. The worst thing that Mikey felt was that Leo had grabbed him by his bad wrist whilst trying to get away from him and his other brothers, so he had a horrible inkling that Leo might find out about his dark secret and tell the others about it which might make things more complicated for them all, especially in terms of how it would affect their progress in bringing Master Splinter back home.

Now that these events have occurred, Mikey could no longer consider himself as one of Master Splinter's sons as well as a brother to Leo, Raph, and Donnie. He took out his small kunai from his belt again and removed the band from his left wrist this time before he aimed the blade at his wrist.

'Stupid!' Slash!

'Useless!' Slash!

'SCREW-UP!' Slash!

Mikey created three-lined cuts on his left wrist in correspondence to the words that he said in his mind, and he let the blood trickle down his arm for a whole minute before he reached for his first aid kit and took out the same much-needed items from it to treat them. Once he was done, he tiredly looked at the sketchbook that was placed next to him on his bed before he picked it up and scowled at it.

"I thought that this wouldn't cause any more trouble for my family…but I was wrong!" He said quietly before he threw the sketchbook firmly against the wall and watched as it fell flat on the ground undamaged.

"I really can't do anything good for them…" He said next as tears began to develop and fall down his face, and he then laid down on his bed and curled up into a ball before he started to sob, with his heart in pieces once again.


	4. Part 4-We need to Talk

Part 4-We need to Talk

_Meanwhile..._

"Hey, guys…? You got a minute?" Leo called out to Raph and Donnie who had just returned from another mission to gather more of Master Splinter's data bits in Cyberspace.

"What is it, Leo? Can't you see we're busy…?" Donnie questioned in an annoyed tone whilst Raph just hummed in agreement.

"We need to talk…" Leo answered in a more serious tone.

"Can it wait until later, Leo? We just got back…!" Raph said tiredly.

"Now, Raph…! It's important…" Leo said instantly, leaving no room for arguments.

Raph and Donnie both sighed in frustration and annoyance before they reluctantly walked over to Leo, who was now sitting and waiting for them at the dining table with his arms folded on the table. They then sat on their chairs and Donnie spoke first.

"What's this all about, Leo? Has there been any trouble in the city that we need to take care of?"

"No…Neither April nor Casey have reported anything so far…" Leo answered whilst shaking his head.

"Is Serling on dat frits?" Raph then asked with a slightly teasing tone.

"No…he's still charging up over there…" Leo answered flatly as he pointed at Serling who was asleep and plugged into his charging station.

"Then what's so important that you want to talk to us about?" Donnie then asked impatiently since he did not want to waste any more time so that he could continue with gathering more of Master Splinter's data bits.

"It's about Mikey…" Leo said firmly but calmly. Raph and Donnie looked at Leo with confused looks on their faces.

"What about him?" Raph asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I thought that he was no longer a problem anymore…" Donnie said in an oddly calm way. Those words shocked Leo badly.

"Wha…? 'No longer a problem anymore'…? Donnie, Mikey's never been a problem! In fact, the way he's been acting lately is starting to worry me…" Leo snapped back.

"Don't tell me dat ya startin' ta take dat knuckleheaded screw-up's side now, Leo…! All he's been ta us is nothin' but trouble!" Raph said as anger began to slowly build up inside him.

"Right! For all I know is that Mikey's just causing more problems for us with his so-called 'mysterious behaviour'…!" Donnie said firmly in agreement.

"Are you even listening to yourselves right now!? I agree that Mikey isn't the world's best ninja, but the way we've been treating him ever since we got back to our own time has gone a bit too far this time!" Leo countered back firmly whilst trying to stay calm before he spoke again. "It's gotten to a point where Mikey is now afraid of us…"

"Seriously?" "Are you kidding me?" Raph and Donnie said in denial before Leo nodded and answered them.

"I'm serious, you two…! Just before you both returned from Cyberspace, I spotted Mikey in the TV area picking up his sketchbook and was about to leave when I went over to talk to him. It was then that I noticed that he wasn't wearing his mask and the way he stood and looked at me made it look as if I was about to harm him; he was shaking, made no eye contact with me, and was holding his sketchbook for dear life…When he spoke to me, he sounded really upset and started crying when I tried to ask him what was bothering him, and what he said was 'I'm not your brother anymore, remember? Same with Raph and Donnie.' Don't those words remind you of anything?"

"Yeah, we told him that he was no longer our brother a few days ago…" Donnie said as he looked down slightly whilst deep in thought.

"Hey! He deserved ta be told dat! None of us should have ta keep pickin' up after him every time he messes somethin' up!" Raph said whilst still in denial.

"So, you think that you don't mess up or make any mistakes yourself? What would happen if your anger got so out of control that you could end up getting someone seriously hurt or worse?" Leo bit back at Raph firmly before he turned to Donnie. "And what if any of your inventions or experiments went wrong and caused serious damage to the lair or to the people around you? Look, I too have made mistakes and wrong actions in the past that I'm not proud of since they were at a point where I nearly got someone badly hurt or killed in the process. In other words, nobody is perfect, including us three!"

Raph and Donnie froze for a moment before they lowered their heads slightly as Raph mumbled something grumpily.

"What was that, Raph?" Leo asked with a raised eyebrow as he leaned in a bit closer to try and hear what the red-banded turtle was saying.

"I said, at least I don't mess up every day as much as _he _does…!" Raph answered loudly as he pointed at the door leading to Mikey's room.

"Yeah, and I always know what's around me before I make my inventions or perform my experiments! Unlike Mikey, who had put Master Splinter's life on the line more than once before because he constantly lets his guard down!" Donnie said firmly in agreement with Raph's words.

"Alright, then…Let me ask you both this; was it really all Mikey's fault for what happened to Master Splinter during our travel back to our own time?" Leo then asked his two brothers in a more serious tone, causing the two brothers to pause for a moment before they looked at each other and then back to Leo as he spoke again.

"Think about it; things were going fine at the beginning of our trip back to our own time from the future, but then Viral took us to different time periods in order for her to try and get rid of us for good. Mikey saved us from becoming lunch for a T-rex when we were in the dinosaur era, and he tried to get us out of the next time period by bravely standing against Viral but he didn't know that this caused her to transport us to a time that involved more that one Shredder in it. In fact, none of us did…"

"But still, he should've kept his big mouth shut and let us deal with dat cyber freak ourselves! Instead, he made things worse by almost gettin' us killed in dat crazy dimension!" Raph immediately blurted out loudly with a frustrated face.

"Yeah, and Master Splinter paid the price for Mikey's stupidity by moving in front of us to take the hit from the decompiler beam and then becoming lost in Cyberspace as data bits!" Donnie pointed out firmly.

"Master Splinter took that hit for us because he loved us all equally, Donnie! No-one is treated differently in this family, no matter what they do!" Leo countered back defensively. "Mikey is important to us too despite the fact that he would only get serious when he needs to…!"

"Then why don't Mikey just come outta dat room of his, take our words in like a proper ninja and start steppin' up a bit more!?" Raph said heatedly.

"Because, Raph…the last time Mikey tried to do that, he got scolded at and shot down by you and Donnie both…How can you two expect him to step up and do what you're asking him to do when you don't give him the chance to?" Leo countered back whist shaking his head slowly.

"He's been given one too many chances already, Leo…! And I'm in no hurry with giving him any more any time soon because I know that he will never change as a ninja or as a brother!" Donnie answered Leo's question with a sigh due to feeling tired from both the trip to Cyberspace and the conversation at present.

"I'm with ya on dat, Donnie…! We might as well end dis discussion now, cos I don't wanna hear any more excuses as to why we should take Mikey back…he'll just get us all killed at some point in our lives…" Raph said gruffly in agreement to Donnie's words before he and his immediate younger brother stood up to leave.

"Wait! We're not done…" Leo said immediately after his brothers stood from their chairs, whilst he stretched out his arm that had the hand with the unknown red liquid on it, which Raph and Donnie instantly noticed.

"What's dat on ya hand?" Raph asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know, but I noticed this not long after I grabbed Mikey's wrist…it looks like either paint or blood…" Leo answered with eyes furrowed with worry.

"It's probably just red paint…you know how much Mikey likes to paint whenever he's in his room…" Donnie said dismissively without even thinking about doing any tests to prove his answer right. "Let's go, Raph…"

"Hmph…" Raph responded flatly with a huff before he followed Donnie back to the computer area to review their progress in their data bit hunting, which was currently going slow at the moment.

Leo didn't call after his brothers as soon as they left the table, and instead just stood there and watched them leave with a disappointed sigh and a sad face.

Even though he understood his brothers' reasons for not wanting to bring Mikey back onto the team, Leo knew that continuing on with living in the past like this will not help in dealing with the matters that are happening at hand in the present.

He took another look at the red splodges on his hand and furrowed his eyebrows again as the feeling of worry began to build up once more in his heart and mind.

"I don't think this is paint…I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this…I should probably go and check if Mikey is ok…" He said to himself before he left the table himself and started his walk towards Mikey's room.

However, what Leo didn't know was that Mikey had already left his room and the lair completely long before the discussion had ended because he secretly heard everything that they said about him and decided that it was time for him to go. The only things that he had left behind were the box that contained his orange mask and a written note, both of which were placed on top of his bed.


	5. Part 5-Hurt Deeply

_**Warning: Scenes of serious self-harming! Do not continue if this makes you feel uneasy.**_

/

Part 5-Hurt Deeply

_30 minutes earlier…_

Mikey continued to sob on his bed for another 2 minutes before he slowly started to calm down, with only the sounds of sniffles and hiccups being heard from the young turtle.

He slowly sat up on his bed and had a look at all the posters, action figures and comic books in his room before his face scowled and lowered his head down as he sighed in frustration.

Despite being the same age as his brothers, Mikey was the only one who kept his fun and child-like spirit going as he felt that there was nothing wrong with playing video games and reading comic books every now and then, and there was more to life than working and training as a ninja every day 24/7. Also, he only wanted to make everyone happy by bringing laughter and positivity to his friends and family, which was part of his family role in his opinion.

Now, however, his brothers hated him for staying the same and they no longer see him as their brother or ninja, and they no longer want him involved in their mission to bring their father and sensei back from Cyberspace due to his numerous screw-ups despite not most them not being his fault. As a result of this, Mikey felt that he had failed his family because he never changed his child-like personality. With this in mind, Mikey decided that enough was enough and stood up from his bed.

"If I'm ever going to make things right again, then I'll need to make some changes…starting with my room…" He said firmly but sadly.

Mikey went over to his posters on the wall and started pulling them down one-by-one before he folded them up and stored them in one of the empty cardboard boxes that he had kept in his room since he and his family first moved into their new lair. He then walked over to his shelf and picked up all of his action figures and placed them in another empty box. Finally, he walked over to his bookshelf and gathered all of his comic books before he placed them all in another separate box. At the corner of his eye, Mikey spotted his sketchbook on the floor from where he threw it at the wall earlier. He picked it up without even thinking about looking inside it and placed it on top of one of the boxes instead of packing it with the rest of his stuff.

Once he was finished with storing his favourite things away, Mikey moved the boxes to the corner of his room near the door before he turned around to have a good look at his now blank and empty room.

Deep down in his heart, Mikey was feeling even more emotionally broken and depressed when he looked at his room's transformation because all the things he stored and hid away were his favourite items that represented his personality and love for fun. Not only that, but they were his pride and joy that helped in keeping his creativity and imagination alive. However, Mikey believed that his older brothers deserved better than the immature version of himself and he would do anything to be with them again as a team and family, even if it meant sacrificing his kid-at-heart personality in order to do so.

"W-Well, now all that's left for me to do…is to try and talk to my former bros again…" Mikey said shakily and nervously since he really didn't want to risk getting another scolding from his older brothers, but he knew that it was the only way to try and reconcile his relationship with them.

With this in mind, Mikey walked towards his bedroom door and slowly but quietly opened it. As he was about to open it any further and walk out, Mikey heard voices, which he instantly recognised as his brothers' voices, coming from further away in another area within the lair. To avoid disturbing and angering his brothers for interrupting them, Mikey stayed hidden behind his door and listen carefully and silently to what they were talking about.

_"Are you even listening to yourselves right now!? I agree that Mikey isn't the world's best ninja, but the way we've been treating him ever since we got back to our own time has gone a bit too far!" Leo countered back firmly whilst trying to stay calm before he spoke again. "It's gotten to a point where Mikey is now afraid of us…" _That was Leo's voice, and he sounded very defensive.

_"Seriously?" "Are you kidding me?" _Those were Raph and Donnie's voice that Mikey heard next, and they sounded surprised before Leo was heard again.

_"I'm serious, you two…! Just before you both returned from Cyberspace, I spotted Mikey in the TV area picking up his sketchbook and was about to leave when I went over to talk to him. He wasn't wearing his mask and the way he stood there and looked at me made it look as if I was about to harm him; he was shaking, made no eye contact with me and was holding his sketchbook for dear life…When he spoke to me, he sounded really upset and started crying when I tried to ask him what was bothering him, and what he said was 'I'm not your brother anymore, same with Raph and Donnie.' Don't those words remind you of anything?"_

_"Yeah, we told him that we were no longer brothers a few days ago…" _Donnie answered, causing Mikey to gasp as he remembered that day as well.

_"Hey! He deserved ta be told dat! None of us should have ta keep pickin' up after him every time he messes somethin' up!" _Raph said in what a now shocked Mikey sensed was denial before Leo spoke again.

_"So, you think that you don't mess up or make any mistakes yourself? What would happen if your anger got so out of control that you could end up getting someone seriously hurt or worse? And what if any of your inventions or experiments went wrong and cause serious damage to the lair or to people around you? Look, I too have made mistakes and actions in the past that I'm not proud of, since it got to a point where I nearly got someone badly hurt or killed in the process. In other words; nobody is perfect, including us three!"_

It was quiet for a moment as everyone, including Mikey, froze in shock and surprise at Leo's words. Mikey couldn't believe his ears; Leo was trying to defend him by pointing out everyone else's flaws and past mistakes in order to show that not every bad thing that had happened to them was Mikey's fault.

_"What was that, Raph?" _Mikey then heard Leo say when Raph grumbled something quietly after a moment of silence.

_"I said, at least I don't mess up every day as much as _he_ does…!" _Raph answered loudly, startling Mikey whose eyes widened when he heard those words.

_"Yeah, and I always know what's around me before I make my inventions or perform my experiments! Unlike Mikey, who had put Master Splinter's life on the line more than once before because he constantly lets his guard down!" _Donnie said firmly in agreement with Raph's words, shocking Mikey to a point where he nearly collapsed on the floor in the process.

_"Alright, then… Let me ask you both this; was it really all Mikey's fault for what happened to Master Splinter during our travel back to our own time?" _Leo then asked his two brothers in a more serious tone, causing all three of his brothers to pause for a moment before Leo spoke again.

_"Think about it; things were going fine at the beginning of our trip back to our own time from the future, but then Viral took us to different time periods in order for her to try and get rid of us for good. Mikey saved us from being lunch for a T-rex when we were in the dinosaur era, and he tried to get us out of the next time period by bravely standing against Viral but he didn't know that this caused her to transport us to a time that involved more that one Shredder in it. In fact, none of us did…"_

_"But still, he should've kept his big mouth shut and let us deal with dat cyber freak ourselves! Instead, he made things worse by almost gettin' us killed in dat crazy dimension!" _Raph immediately blurted out loudly with a frustrated face.

_"Yeah, and Master Splinter paid the price for Mikey's stupidity by moving in front of us to take the hit from the decompiler and then becoming lost in Cyberspace as data bits!" _Donnie pointed out firmly, making Mikey flinch and develop tears in his eyes when he heard that Donnie was still blaming him for what happened to Master Splinter.

_"Master Splinter took that hit for us because he loved us all equally, Donnie! No-one is treated differently in this family, no matter what they do! Mikey is important to us too despite the fact that he would only get serious when he needs to…" _Leo countered back defensively.

_"Then why don't Mikey just come outta dat room of his, take our words in like a proper ninja and start steppin' up a bit more!?" _Raph said heatedly. Feeling annoyed by this, Mikey was about to do what Raph just said to try and prove him wrong before he heard Leo verbally counter Raph with an answer to that question.

_"Because… the last time Mikey tried to do that, Raph, he got scolded at and shot down by you and Donnie both… How can you two expect him to step up and do what you're asking him to do when you don't give him a chance to?"_

When Mikey heard this, he realised that Leo had made a valid point there and this made his heart feel slightly lighter than before, knowing that Leo was starting to stick up for him more. However, that was all about to change when Mikey heard what Donnie said next.

_"He's been given one too many chances already, Leo… and I'm in no hurry with giving him any more any time soon because I know that he will never change as a ninja or a brother…"_

_"I'm with ya on dat, Donnie… we might as well end dis discussion now, cos I don't wanna hear any more excuses as to why we should take Mikey back… he'll just get us all killed at some point in our lives…" _Raph said gruffly in agreement.

That did it. Mikey's eyes filled with more tears which fell heavily down his face as he quietly closed his bedroom door and walked towards his bed before he sat on it, covered his watery face with his hands and sobbed in despair.

He realised that it was no use in continuing with this battle for redemption; Raph and Donnie had made it loud and clear that they saw Mikey as a useless screw-up and just a waste of time and space, no matter how hard he would try to change himself and make amends with his brothers for their sake. Leo may have helped in defending him but Mikey had a feeling that, deep down, Leo would be thinking the same way as Raph and Donnie.

"W-Why…Why would they…?" Mikey said tearfully. "I-I've tried…my best with them…but I'm tired…I'm so tired of this game…"

He removed his hands from his face and reached in his belt to get out his kunai and looked at it with a sad but frustrated look on his face.

"It's too much…it's obvious…they don't want me…as a brother…or a ninja anymore…at all!" He then said firmly before he aimed and pressed the blade on his right arm this time, and he was planning on making his 'punishment' deeper this time.

"They see me as a useless ninja…" Slash!

"A waste of time…" Slash!

"A screw-up…" Slash!

"A disaster bringer…" Slash!

Mikey then switched hands, which was difficult due to the pain and slight numbness that he was feeling, and aimed the blade at his left arm.

"A stupid idiot…" Slash!

"A clumsy fool…" Slash!

"A monster…" Slash!

"A _murderer_…!" Slash!

By now, both of Mikey's arms were a mess with deep wounds and he allowed the river of crimson red to flow and fall down his arms and land onto his mattress sheet for a whole 2 minutes before he got out his first aid kit and took out a couple of bandages and gauze.

The problem with the treatment process was that the wounds were deep and bleeding badly so the bandages were coming loose due to being weighed down by the blood, and Mikey was also starting to feel dizzy and was losing focus due to the blood loss. However, Mikey didn't care at this point and he just left the bandages as they are on his arms.

"Well…there's no point in me being here anymore…I should go before I cause even more trouble…but, first…" Mikey said sadly before he slowly got up from his bed, took out a notebook and the box containing his mask from under his bed and placed them on his blanket.

With a pen in hand, Mikey sat back down on his bed and opened the notebook onto a fresh clean page and began to write a farewell letter to his family. He then tore it off, folded it neatly and placed it next to the little box before he stood back up and quietly made his way out of his room.

Once he knew that the coast was clear, Mikey headed towards the lair's exit and, after taking one more look around his home, he took his leave with heartbroken tears falling down his face once more.

What Mikey didn't know was that something orange and fluffy had watched him go with small green eyes whilst hidden in the shadows.


	6. Part 6-Searching for Answers

Part 6-Searching for Answers

Knock! Knock!

"Mikey…? It's me, Leo…can I come in?" Leo said gently after he softly knocked on Mikey's door to let him know who was there. After waiting a moment for a response from him, there was nothing coming from the other side so he tried again.

Knock! Knock!

"Mikey? Are you in there?" Leo then said as he reached and twisted the doorknob to check if Mikey had locked the door, but was surprised to find that it was unlocked again so he slowly opened it and peered inside the room.

The first thing Leo noticed when he looked around the room was that it was completely pitch-black so he couldn't properly see what changes had been made since he last visited Mikey. Speaking of which, when Leo looked over to where the bed was located he discovered that Mikey was no longer there or anywhere else in his room.

Leo then walked inside, approached the bedside table, and switched on the lamp to allow some light to shine some of the darkness away in the room. As soon as he did that, he now noticed the changes in the decor of Mikey's room.

In fact, there was barely anything in the room at all; the superhero posters on the walls were removed, the action figures were absent from the shelves, and the pile of comic books was no longer in its place in the corner of the room. All that he could see was a few large storage boxes gathered together in another corner of the room, meaning that all the said stuff had been packed away and shoved into the corner until further notice.

"Oh, Mikey…why did you do this...and, where did you go?" Leo said quietly and sadly to himself before he decided to sit on Mikey's bed to try and think of where Mikey could have gone.

At the corner of his eye, Leo spotted a folded piece of paper next to a small box on the bed, both of which were placed next to each other on top of the blanket. He picked up the box first and opened it carefully.

As soon as the lid was off, Leo's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the long piece of orange-coloured cloth which was folded neatly inside the box.

"Mikey's mask…so, this was what he meant when he said that he stored it away…" Leo said as he gently rubbed his baby brother's mask with his thumb and then he remembered how bare and vulnerable Mikey looked without it on when he saw him in the TV area earlier.

Now that he thought about it, though, Leo did notice that Mikey was not acting his usual self for the past few days since the time travel incident; he hardly ate as much as he used to, just like how Donnie would skip meals to focus more on finding and retrieving Master Splinter's data bits, and he had not been sleeping properly which caused visible dark circles to develop under his eyes despite wearing his mask. He also didn't laugh or joke around as much as he used to, which Leo thought was due to an after-affect from the shock of Master Splinter's sacrifice, at first. Now, however, Leo was beginning to realise that Mikey's depressive behaviour might have gone a bit deeper than he first thought.

Leo then gingerly placed the mask next to him on the blanket, picked up the folded paper next, and saw that there was a message written on it, so he began to read it in his mind.

_"To my brothers,_

_If any of you is reading this, then that means I'm no longer in the lair. _

_After taking in everything you said about me earlier and seeing how badly my behaviour has been for you all lately, I have realised now that my presence here has become an even bigger burden than it ever was years before we first became ninjas._

_You were all right about me earlier; I don't have a true place in this family and I'm just a stupid and useless screw-up that should have been erased from existence years ago. _

_I have tried but failed to fix all my mistakes and be the brother that you always wanted, because whatever I did as myself just wasn't good enough…_

_Well, you don't have to worry about that now, because I will soon set you all free from my cursed life and then you won't have to drop everything or risk your own lives just to protect mine anymore._

_I can't tell you how truly sorry I really am for not taking everything seriously and for not keeping my word when I said that I would help you out more on missions._

_But…despite everything that's happened, I still love you all as my brothers and I'm so sorry for being the bad one out of the four of us._

_Once you find and bring back Master Splinter, tell him that I love him and that I'm sorry for not being the son that he always wanted me to be…_

_Don't bother trying to find me, because I might be long gone by the time you have finished reading this…_

_All that is left for me to say is…goodbye, and I love you all…_

_Take care of each other…and look after Klunk for me..._

_From your former brother,_

_Mikey"_

By the time Leo had finished reading the letter, his eyes were streaming with tears of sadness and pain for his baby brother. He really didn't want to believe that this was all real, but his little brother's absence, bare room, and letter were strong proof that it was. He re-folded the letter and held it close to his chest as he quietly sobbed his heart out.

"Oh, Mikey...Y-You're not the bad one…you n-never were…I-I shouldn't have left you all alone earlier…I'm so sorry..." Leo said tearfully.

Whilst this was going on, something small and furry walked into the room; it was Klunk, and he was curiously looking at the blue-banded turtle before he jumped onto the bed and started to rub against Leo's arm to try and get his attention.

"H-Huh? Oh…hey, Klunk…" Leo said sadly with a sniffle before he gently stroked Klunk's head, earning him a purr as a result.

The orange cat suddenly paused after catching a strange scent in the air before walked towards the middle of the bed and began to sniff at the blanket, and then he started scratching and meowing at it in a slightly stressed out manner.

"What's wrong, little guy?" Leo asked the cat curiously before he lifted the blanket off the bed.

What he saw next made his eyes widened in shock; right in front of him was a large patch of red that had spread through the whole middle of the bed, and it was slightly damp to the touch which meant that it was made recently.

"What the Shell…!?" Leo said before he heard metallic footsteps outside of the room, meaning that Serling was awake and fully charged. He ran towards the door and opened it in time to see Serling walking nearby.

"Serling!" Leo called out to Serling in an urgent tone, which caught the robot butler's attention immediately.

"Leonardo, what seems to be troubling you at such a quiet and peaceful time?" Serling asked in a calm but confused tone.

"Can your systems detect any traces of blood or bodily fluids?" Leo replied desperately.

"Of course; I always used it to help Cody with ID checks in the lab back in my time. Why do you ask?" Serling answered with a raised metal eyebrow.

"Come in here with me, I need you to check something for me…" Leo said in a slightly more serious tone before he guided Serling into Mikey's room.

Once they were inside the room, Leo pulled the blanket off of the bed a bit more to show Serling the red patch on the mattress cover. Serling looked at it in surprise and shock before he turned to Leo and spoke.

"What on earth is this, and what is it doing on Michelangelo's bed?"

"That's what I'm hoping to find out, Serling…will you help me figure out what exactly this is? Because Donnie and Raph think that it's red paint, though I highly doubt that it is…" Leo answered anxiously as he looked from Serling to the red patch.

"Of course…give me a moment…" Serling complied with Leo's words before he got closer to the bed and activated his scanner ray on the red patch. A whole minute went by and Serling's scanner beeped, meaning that the results were in.

"Oh, dear…" Serling said, his voice filled with dread when he looked at the results on his hologram screen.

"What is it? What did you find?" Leo asked in desperation for an answer when he heard the way Serling spoke.

"The results show that the red fluid not only contains Michelangelo's DNA but it also contains red blood cells, plasma, and platelets…In other words, this large patch of red is made of Michelangelo's blood…" Serling answered grimly as he looked from his screen to Leo, who looked at him with a pale and horror-filled face before he spoke.

"T-Then, that means…Don't tell me…!"

Leo then hurriedly stormed out of Mikey's room and Serling followed him out whilst trying to figure out what was on Leo's mind to make him leave so suddenly.

"Where are you going?" Serling called out as Leo headed towards the lair's exit.

"I'm going to go look for Mikey! I've got a horrible feeling that something bad is going to happen to him… If you see Raph and Donnie, tell them that I've gone out for a bit, and I will call them if I need them! Also, what we found in Mikey's room stays between us for now, understood?" Leo replied seriously before he got a nod of understanding from Serling, and then he left the lair altogether.

_/_

_5 minutes later…_

The first place Leo had decided to search for Mikey in were the sewer tunnels as he knew that Mikey wouldn't be foolish enough to go topside whilst suffering from an emotional breakdown and blood loss from his self-afflicted wounds.

However, to make sure that his theory was correct, Leo took out his shell cell from his belt and dialed April's phone number. After ringing a couple of times, April answered his call.

"_Hi, Leo-_"

"Hey, April, you haven't heard anything from Mikey at some point today, have you?" Leo asked as he cut off April's sentence due to his worry and anxiety taking over him.

_"Mikey? No, he hasn't called me or anything all day. Why? Did something happen to him?"_ April asked as she too was starting to sense that something was wrong.

"Well…Let's just say that some bad things were said to Mikey, which have caused him to go downhill emotionally in terms of his position in our family…and now he's gone missing…" Leo answered in a sad tone.

_"That's awful! Do you know where he could've gone?"_ April said in a slight panic after hearing that Mikey had gone missing.

"I'm searching the sewer tunnels for Mikey right now, but I'm calling you to ask if you and Casey would keep an eye out for him in the city…" Leo answered in a serious tone.

_"Of course we will, Leo. You can count on us!"_ April said with determination in her voice. Leo smiled at that before he spoke again but in a more serious tone.

"Thanks, April…however, there is one more thing that you need to know for when you find him…"

_"What is it, Leo?"_ April asked nervously.

"Mikey has become so emotionally low that he's…well…when I went into his room and found him missing, I spotted a large patch of blood on his bed…" Leo answered grimly.

_"Oh, no…! Leo, you're not saying that Mikey's been…hurting himself…are you!?"_ April questioned in horror.

"Yes…so, I just wanted to warn you that you might see a lot of blood when you find Mikey if he _has_ gone topside…Get your first aid kit ready, just in case…" Leo answered with a sad sigh.

_"Alright…call me immediately if you find him first or need me for anything, ok?"_ April said firmly but softly.

"I will…Bye, April, I'll see you soon…" Leo promised.

_"Bye, Leo…"_ April replied before Leo ended the call, placed his phone back in his belt with a sigh.

"I'll find you, Mikey…please, be ok until then…" He said to himself with brotherly determination as he resumed in his search for Mikey in the sewer tunnels.


	7. Part 7-I've had Enough

Part 7-I've had Enough

_Mikey's side..._

"Ngh!"

Mikey collapsed onto the ground again as he walked in the wet and dark tunnels of the sewers. It was the second time that he did this and he knew the very reason why; he had lost a lot of blood from the deep wounds he made on himself.

It had been over an hour since Mikey left the lair and he was now slowly starting to feel the effects of his 'punishment' since the bandages that were wrapped around both his arms were not only blood-soaked, but the amount of blood that was lost was also weighing them down and causing them to loosen, resulting in the loss of pressure to stop the bleeding.

However, Mikey did nothing to correct them because he was at a point where he no longer cared about how unwell he was feeling because, by now, he had given up on himself and had no idea what to do next after he left the lair and his family, which caused him to become tearful again as he thought about this.

He honestly didn't want to leave in the first place. He wanted to stay and show everyone that he too can be relied on as a brother and ninja, but after being verbally ganged up on by his older brothers with the use of harsh and negative words towards him, Mikey just couldn't take it anymore and felt that it was best that he should no longer stay due to his past actions constantly haunting him each time he got into trouble.

Another dizzy spell suddenly hit the now pale turtle and he immediately stopped to lean against a wall to allow the sensation to pass. As the dizziness began to fade, Mikey heard faint sounds of rushing water coming from a mile away to the north from his location, so he slowly stood up straight and walked towards the source of the noise.

Soon, Mikey started to recognise the location where the sounds of rushing water were coming from; ahead of him was a large opening and there were streams of water in front of him falling over the edge of other large pipes from a far distance, turning them into large waterfalls afterward.

He and his brothers haven't been to this place for years and it was during their first year of ninja training as tots when they first found it. They were doing a stealth exercise in the sewer tunnels when little Mikey spotted this area and his older brothers found him admiring the view of the distant waterfalls whilst sitting close to the edge, so they decided to take a break from their exercise and joined him as they too found the place fascinating. As they got older, however, the turtle brothers' visit to their special place became less and less frequent when their training got more serious, and they had soon forgotten all about it until today, that is, by the same turtle.

"Whoa…that's a big drop…" Mikey said in awe as he looked at how far the water was falling with his dull eyes. It was then that a dark thought crept into his mind.

"A drop like this…can be fatal…if someone fell down it…" He said to himself in an ominous but sad tone. "Maybe…no-one will ever know that I'm gone…if that happened to me…since they never want to see me again, anyway…"

Mikey got closer to the edge as more tears fell from his eyes. He really didn't want to do this because he wanted to live his life to the full, but he knew that if he returned home he would get a face-full of harsh and cruel words again, and he just couldn't stand the thought of going through all of that anymore.

Instead of facing the front of the hole head-on, Mikey turned around so that his shell-covered back was facing the hole's exit and his feet were now even closer to the edge. He looked on at the dark tunnel that he walked from earlier and began to cry once more because he knew that once he did what he was about to do, there was no going back, and his only regrets were that he was never able to atone for his actions and tell his family how much he loved them.

He closed his eyes, causing more tears to fall, and spoke out his farewell speech towards the dark emptiness.

"I'm sorry, everyone…I-I'm so sorry…I couldn't be the brother, son, and friend that you wanted me to be…I-I'm just a worthless nobody…who messes everything up…a-and brings disaster to you all…D-Don't worry, though…I will be out of your hair and shells soon…I hope you all live…a more peaceful and happy life…without me around to ruin it all the time…"

Mikey then opened his eyes and reached into his belt to take out his kunai blade. He looked at it and held it in both hands as he aimed and pointed the sharp end of the blade at his chest, despite the pain and numbness he was feeling in both his arms due to his still bleeding wounds.

"I love you all...Farewell…"

As Mikey was about to make the fatal blow, a voice rang out through the tunnel.

_"Mikey, NOOO!"_

This caused Mikey to jump and drop his kunai in the process. He didn't see who it was that shouted towards him because the last thing he saw was the whole tunnel starting to spin, and then everything went black.

/

_Earlier, on Leo's side…_

In one of the sewer tunnels, Leo had stopped for a quick breather as he had been searching for Mikey for over 20 minutes now with no luck in finding any signs of him since leaving the lair.

"Where are you, Mikey? Please…be safe and nearby…!" Leo said anxiously as he worked on catching his breath for a minute before he started walking again to continue his search for his little brother.

During the search for Mikey, Leo's anxiety and worry had begun to build even more. He already knew that his little brother had lost a lot of blood and, after that, had figured out that Mikey was harming himself severely. All because of the way he and his other brothers had treated him these past few days.

The feelings of guilt, regret, and sadness filled his heart and mind as soon as he realised this. Leo never wanted anything bad to happen to any of his younger brothers, especially Mikey who he saw as a kid-at-heart who loved to have fun and make everyone happy. There were times where Leo would be annoyed and disappointed at Mikey due to not taking life as a ninja seriously, which would result in him, Raph, Donnie, and Master Splinter giving him a scolding that would make him feel down and upset afterward. However, they realised whilst growing up that Mikey had a certain light in his heart and spirit that would always bring a smile to everyone's faces and he would always do his best to lift even the darkest of moods with his jokes and fancy moves, making him the most lovable and fun turtle to be with.

But then…the time-traveling incident happened and had caused Leo, Raph, and Donnie to pin all the blame on Mikey for something that he never even did since he wasn't really the one who turned their journey back to their own time into a disaster and caused their sensei and father figure to sacrifice himself to save them and help them return home safely. The words they said to Mikey, their baby brother, not only made him feel like he was a useless screw-up, but they also made him believe that he was a murderer, resulting in him becoming emotionally depressed and started inflicting harsh self-punishment upon himself.

Leo had never felt so angry at himself and towards Raph and Donnie because they were brothers and Mikey was the youngest as well as the baby out of the four of them, who they had sworn through a brotherly oath to protect and have his back whenever danger was close by. Now, they had broken that oath and caused Mikey to become distant and afraid towards them, resulting in a strain being made in their brotherly relationship.

"Mikey…once I find you and bring you back home…I promise you that things will be better again…" Leo promised his little brother mentally as tears developed and fell down his face.

Then, a faint voice suddenly echoed through the tunnel in front of him.

_"I'm sorry, everyone…so sorry…I couldn't be the brother, son, and friend…wanted me to be…a worthless nobody…brings disaster…D-Don't worry…be out of your hairs and shells soon…I hope you all live…a peaceful…life…without me…"_

"Mikey!?" Leo whispered in surprise as he instantly recognised his baby brother's voice coming from further into the tunnel that he was currently in. He also noticed that Mikey's voice tone sounded even sadder than it was when he first heard him speak earlier in the astral plane and in the TV area, causing him to feel more uneasy and worried about him.

With this in mind, Leo immediately increased his speed and started to run towards the source of the voice.

As soon as he got closer to where the voice was coming from, Leo instantly saw a dark figure standing near the opening of the tunnel's end, and it wasn't until he walked a little further forward that he recognised the figure as Mikey. Then, his eyes widened in horror when he saw Mikey holding and pointing a small blade towards his chest before he heard his quiet voice again.

"I love you all…Farewell…"

Realising that his little brother was about to do the unthinkable, Leo hurried forward with an arm stretched out as he shouted;

"Mikey, NOOO!"

Then, Leo saw Mikey jump and drop his kunai blade at the same time, before he watched as his eyes roll back and his body slowly starting to fall backward, horrifying him even more.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! MIKEY!" Leo shouted as he ran faster towards his falling brother, who remained unresponsive, and managed to catch him around his waist before he could fall to his death.

Leo then dragged Mikey away from the edge and laid him down on the ground whilst still supporting his upper body in his arms. When he looked at Mikey's arms, his heart sank as soon as he saw the heavily blood-soaked bandages that had come loose and he could just see one or two of the cuts on his arms.

"Oh, Mikey…" Leo said sadly before he gathered his baby brother closer and rested his head against Mikey's as he began to cry again. "Don't worry…I'm here now…You're going to be ok…"

Mikey made no response to Leo's words since he was still out cold, with only the sound of groaning coming out of his mouth as he weakly moved his head slightly towards Leo's plastron.

Leo immediately took out his shell cell and was about to call Donnie, but he then realised that Donnie and Raph might still be busy with gathering more of Master Splinter's data bits from Cyberspace, and there was also the possibility that Donnie would become annoyed and think that Mikey was wasting his time. Instead, Leo scrolled down his contact list and dialed Leatherhead's number since Leatherhead has been known to have a similar level of both medical and scientific knowledge to that of Donnie's.

After three rings, Leo's call was finally picked up by the big reptile himself, much to his relief.

_"Hello, Leonardo. It's been-"_ Leatherhead started speaking but Leo had cut him off in an urgent tone of voice.

"Leatherhead, are you at home right now?"

_"Hmm? Oh, yes I am home. Why? What is wrong, my friend?"_ Leatherhead answered before he sensed the urgency in Leo's voice.

"I just found Mikey in the sewer tunnels, hurt and losing a lot of blood. I need your help, please!" Leo replied in a slightly more desperate voice.

_"Of course I will help your brother, Leonardo. We are good friends after all, though I do not understand why you called me and did not inform Donatello about Michelangelo's condition first…"_ Leatherhead said after snapping out of his shock when he heard that Mikey had been found injured before he became confused when he was notified instead of Donnie in situations like this.

"It's…A long story, Leatherhead. I'll tell you everything as soon as Mikey's wounds have been treated. I'm heading to your place now!" Leo answered in a nervous tone since he was unsure about how he should explain to Leatherhead about what's been really going on with Mikey before he heard Leatherhead speak again.

_"Alright. I will get everything ready for when you arrive with__ Michelangelo__. I will see you soon, my friend…"_

"Thank you, Leatherhead…goodbye…" Leo replied before he ended the call and placed his shell cell back into his belt.

He looked back at Mikey, who was still out cold and getting paler due to the continuous blood loss before he took a deep breath and spoke to him in a soft tone.

"Hang in there, Mikey…you're going to be alright…I promise…"

He then gently lifted him up in a bridal-style hold and quickly started making his way towards Leatherhead's place, whilst hoping that he wasn't too late to save his little brother both physically and spiritually.


	8. Part 8-A Friend and Brother in Need

Part 8-A Friend and Brother in Need

_In Leatherhead's lair…_

Leatherhead was in the medical room making the final preparations for Mikey's arrival; he checked to make sure that the monitors were functioning properly, the medical equipment was laid out in the right order, and the bed was given fresh clean sheets. He also got out a bag of IV fluids and hung it on the metal bag stand to be used to help with any fluid loss or dehydration that Mikey might be suffering from.

_"Leatherhead? Where are you? It's me, Leonardo!"_

The sound of Leo's voice echoed throughout the lair a minute later, and Leatherhead immediately left the room to go and greet the blue-banded turtle at the entrance. When he saw Leo, however, his eyes widened in shock as soon as he saw Mikey, who was breathing abnormally and covered in bloody bandages, out cold in his arms.

"This way, my friend, quickly! Everything is ready for him!" Leatherhead said urgently as he moved aside to allow Leo inside the medical room first before he followed him in from close behind.

Leo gently laid Mikey onto the medical bed whilst Leatherhead went over to the oxygen tank and attached a breathing mask before he placed it over Mikey's face and turned on the oxygen. When he moved on to look at the bloody bandages on Mikey's arms, leatherhead looked at Leo.

"What happened to him, Leonardo?" Leatherhead asked in a slightly serious tone since he wanted to know who or what did this to his friend.

"It's better if I showed you first…" Leo answered sadly before he slowly started to unwrap the bandages on Mikey's arms.

Leatherhead's eyes grew wider in shock and horror when he saw the long deep cuts on the youngest turtle's arms, and what worried him more was that the cuts were still bleeding and causing Mikey to become paler green in colour.

"H-How…W-Why…?" Leatherhead stuttered out whilst still in shock.

"Before I tell you the full story, Leatherhead, I need you to treat Mikey's wounds first…please..." Leo said flatly but calmly to his large reptile friend.

Leatherhead said nothing and, instead, just nodding in understanding before he walked over to his first aid equipment to get what he needed to treat Mikey's cuts. However, he growled when he looked at his supplies.

"What's wrong, Leatherhead?" Leo asked in concern.

"I just noticed that I do not have enough gauze and bandages to cover all of his wounds!" Leatherhead answered firmly and in a frustrated manner.

"Don't worry; I'll call April and ask her to come and bring her supplies here. I need to tell her that I've found Mikey, anyway…In the meantime, focus on doing what you can do for now…" Leo said before he got his shell cell out and dialed April's number once more.

_"Leo! Did you-"_

April immediately spoke after she picked up Leo's call but then Leo cut her off since he knew what she was going to say.

"Yeah, April; I've found Mikey…"

_"Oh, thank goodness…is he ok!?" _April then asked in a nervous tone.

"He's alive, but he's out cold and has lost a lot of blood…we're at Leatherhead's place right now but his gauze and bandage supplies are low…can you bring yours over here, please? It's urgent!" Leo said in a slight panic.

_"Oh, no… don't worry, Leo; Casey and I will be right there with the supplies that Leatherhead needs, ok…? Just sit tight!"_ April replied with determination in her voice.

"Thanks, April…See you soon…" Leo said with relief in his voice before he ended the call and put his shell cell back in his belt.

"Leonardo, please come and assist me with this!" Leatherhead suddenly called out to him.

Leo looked over at Leatherhead and saw that he was struggling to clean and stitch the cuts on Mikey's arm whilst stopping and wiping away the blood at the same time, so he hurried over and grabbed a piece of gauze to help him with the blood side of the job at hand, whilst bearing in mind that the number of gauzes is very low.

Around 10 minutes had passed and despite the low supply of gauze and bandages, Leatherhead was able to completely stitch and bandage Mikey's left arm up, and he then inserted an IV line, which was connected to the fluid bag, into Mikey's arm to give him fluids since the blood loss had caused him to become dehydrated. However, when he moved on to the right arm he noticed that one of the cuts was so deep that it seemed to have nicked a small artery.

"This is not good; Michelangelo is losing more blood from this arm due to how deep it is and my fingers are too large to stitch up the damaged artery! How long will it be before April arrives with the supplies?" Leatherhead said in a frustrated but panicked tone.

Just seconds after saying that, the sounds of hurrying footsteps were heard coming from the entrance before a couple of familiar voices called out to them.

_"Leo?" "Leatherhead?" _It was April and Casey!

"We're in here, guys!" Leo called back in relief whilst Leatherhead breathed a sigh of relief himself.

Soon, April and Casey appeared into the medical room with the much-needed supply of extra bandages and gauze. As they got closer to the bed and saw the state that Mikey was in, April gasped in horror and almost dropped the supplies in the process if Casey wasn't close to her despite feeling shocked himself.

"Mikey! No…Why…!?" She said as she looked at him with a distraught look on her face and tears developing in her eyes. Leo saw this and immediately went over to her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and spoke to her in a firm but soft tone.

"April, stay calm and listen to me; Mikey is still with us, but Leatherhead needs your help in making sure that he stays that way. Can you do it?"

"I-I…yes, I'll do my best to help Mikey pull through this!" April answered after taking a deep breath and a moment to compose herself before she walked over to where Leatherhead was working to keep the pressure on the deepest cut on Mikey's right arm and placed the bandages and gauzes down next to him.

"Thank you, April…" Leatherhead said to the red-haired young woman with a relieved and grateful smile.

"No worries, Leatherhead…what do you need my help with?" April replied with a more determined mind, meaning that she was ready to help in treating Mikey. Before he answered her question, Leatherhead turned his head towards Leo and Casey and spoke to them first.

"Leonardo, I need you and Casey to wait outside until we are done with treating Michelangelo's wounds…Also, I would like to know the whole story of why this happened to him afterward…"

"Alright…Don't worry; I already promised you that I will tell you everything…Until then, we'll leave you to it…Come on, Casey…" Leo said after he nodded in understanding before he left the room with Casey following him close behind.

/

_30 minutes later…_

Leo and Casey were sitting in Leatherhead's living area and waiting anxiously for any news from April and Leatherhead in the medical room.

Then, the door opened and Leo and Casey stood up and walked over to the duo without hesitation to ask them if Mikey was ok.

"How is he?" Leo asked first nervously.

"His blood pressure is very low, but April was able to stitch up the damaged artery...he is stable for now..." Leatherhead answered in his 'Doctor Leatherhead' voice. Leo only breathed a small sigh of relief since Mikey was still not out of the woods yet.

"I think now's the time for you to tell us what happened between you guys, Leo…" April then said in a slightly scared tone.

Knowing that he had no other choice, Leo took a deep breath and looked at his three friends as he spoke.

"Alright…Here's what happened…"

_/_

_15 minutes later…_

"And…that's where we are now…"

As soon as Leo finished telling his story about what happened since their return from the future, April was sobbing with a hand over her mouth and Casey was giving her a comforting hug whilst wearing a frustrated look on his face after he heard everything. Leatherhead was also trying to keep it together and prevent his rage from exploding as he growled in anger and his hands clutched into fists.

"I'm so sorry, guys…I should've done more to prevent things from getting worse, but I didn't…I allowed this to happen…" Leo said sadly as he lowered his head in shame.

"Ya did what ya could, man…! You were stuck in da middle of all dis!" Casey replied before he felt April forcefully release herself from the hug with a stern look on her face.

"How could they do such a thing!? Mikey is the sweetest person I have ever known, and he would never hurt anyone! Master Splinter would never have wanted this…!" April said in a slight outburst of anger with another couple of tears falling down her face. She then felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned her head to see that it belonged to Leatherhead who spoke in a firm but soft tone.

"April, I too am understandably upset with the way Michelangelo has been treated by his own brothers, but we must remain calm and ensure that he is given the treatment and help he needs…"

"Da big guy's right, babe; let's focus on helpin' Mikey fa now, and then we'll give Raph and Donnie a good talkin' to afterward…" Casey said after nodding in agreement with Leatherhead's words.

April looked from Casey to Leatherhead and then she looked at Leo, who also nodded in agreement before she wiped her face to remove any remaining tears from it and nodded to say that she understood and was ready to continue with helping Mikey. But, suddenly;

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

The sounds of loud beeping rang out from inside of the medical room, alerting the group before they immediately ran towards the room to see what was wrong.

It was then that Leatherhead, who entered the medical room first, saw the light on the vitals monitor flashing red, and when he looked closer at the screen his eyes widened.

"Leatherhead, what's going on!?" Leo asked with slight panic in his voice before he looked at Mikey who seemed to be having trouble breathing. "What's wrong with him!?"

"Michelangelo is going into shock due to the amount of blood he has lost! He needs a blood transfusion, now!" Leatherhead answered firmly.

"Leo, can you-" April was about to ask Leo if he could donate some of his blood but she was immediately cut off by the blue-banded turtle himself as he held Mikey's hand.

"I can't! I'm not a match!"

"Then, who is?" Casey questioned whilst trying to keep his cool himself.

"Raph is…but-"

"Then get him over here! Mikey might go critical soon!" April screamed out as she helped Leatherhead in trying to maintain Mikey's vitals.

Leo sighed in frustration; he really wanted to help Mikey by calling Raph and Donnie over here, but he was worried and unsure about whether or not his two brothers will take the news seriously because of their strong grudge against the youngest. However, Leo wasn't going to give up so easily on either one of his brothers because he loved them all and need to work together to bring Master Splinter back home from Cyberspace.

With this in mind, Leo reached and grabbed his shell cell out of his belt with one hand whilst holding Mikey's hand in his other one, and he dialed Raph's number first.

'Please pick up, Raph…Pick up…!" Leo thought anxiously as sweat dripped from his head when the phone rang a few times. Then, after a moment of silence;

_"Leo?"_ Raph finally picked up.

"Raph! I'm at Leatherhead's place, get over here now!" Leo said instantly.

_"Why? What's up now?"_ Raph then questioned whilst sounding a bit irked.

"I don't have time to explain! Just get to Leatherhead's lair, and bring Donnie with you! It's an emergency!" Leo answered in a more urgent manner as time was not on Mikey's side right now.

_"Grr… Fine, but if dis is another stupid joke from Mikey…!"_ Raph then said in an annoyed tone due to thinking that Mikey was doing something wrong again, causing Leo to get frustrated with the red-banded turtle's attitude.

"Just. Hurry. Up, Raph! Goodbye!" After saying this through gritted teeth, Leo hung up on Raph and ended the call, before he looked at the pained look on Mikey's face and gave his baby brother's hand a reassuring squeeze. He then looked over at Leatherhead and spoke.

"Raph and Donnie are on their way…"

"Good…I hope that they get here quickly because I do not know if Michelangelo will be able to hold on for much longer!" Leatherhead replied in concern for Mikey's current situation.

"Hey, don't be like dat! Mike's gonna be fine…believe in him, cos he needs us right now!" Casey said defensively with April nodding with a hum in agreement.

"You're right, Casey…we will never give up on him…ever!" Leo said firmly before he continued his watch over Mikey, who was still struggling in his fight to stay alive.

/

_In the turtles' lair…_

Raph growled at his shell cell after he was cut off by Leo. This caught Donnie's attention during his assessment on their gathered Master Splinter's data bits and he spoke.

"Who was that, Raph?"

"It was Leo, and he sounded really worked up. He told me dat he's at Leatherhead's place and we're needed there now…" Raph answered flatly with a sigh.

"Why? What's going on?" Donnie asked with a raised eyebrow as he got up from his chair.

"Don't know, he didn't say…all he said was fa us ta get over ta Leatherhead's place, pronto…" Raph answered as he shook his head slightly.

"Well, I think we should head over there just to keep Leo from breathing down our shells again…" Donnie said with a sigh whilst thinking that they should get whatever they're needed for over and done with so that he and Raph could carry on with gathering more data bits without any more delays.

Raph nodded in agreement with Donnie's words before they both made their way towards the lair's exit to start their trip to Leatherhead's lair.

Unbeknownst to them, Serling was watching the two turtles walk out of the lair from where he was standing in the dining area with a sad-looking expression on his metallic face since he and Leo were the only ones to know the real reason for why they were needed.

"At last, some peace and quiet…though do I hope that those four will finally make peace with each other again…" The metal butler said to himself before he continued on with his task of cleaning the table and kitchen area.


	9. Part 9-How Dare You?

Part 9-How Dare You!

_Back in Leatherhead's lair..._

Around 5 minutes had passed since Leo called Raph, and everyone's worries and concerns were starting to rise because Mikey was slowly getting worse as they waited for them to come.

Then, Raph and Donnie finally arrived at Leatherhead's lair entrance, but not without walking in with annoyed looks on their faces. Casey, who was keeping an eye out for the two brothers, spotted them and quickly walked over to them as he spoke in a firm tone.

"About time ya showed up…! Ya needed in da infirmary!"

"What's going on, Casey?" "Yeah, what's dis all about?" Raph and Donnie questioned.

"Why don't ya go in there and see fa ya selves!" Casey answered with a glare as he pointed at the doorway leading into the medical room.

Raph and Donnie looked at each other before they sighed and quickly walked towards the infirmary. As soon as they entered inside, their eyes widened; they saw Mikey on the medical bed sweating and breathing abnormally and a teary-eyed Leo securely holding Mikey's hand for support whilst April and Leatherhead struggled to stabilise Mikey.

"What da shell…!?" Raph said in shock before he saw Leo look up at him after being startled by his words.

"Raph! Finally, you're here…We need your blood for Mikey! You're the only one with his matching blood type!" Leo said urgently with slight relief.

"What happened, Leo?" Donnie asked impatiently because he was feeling that his time was being wasted for no reason.

"After we give blood to Mikey, I'll explain everything…I need to have a serious talk with you two, anyway…" Leo answered firmly whilst slowly developing a glare towards Donnie since he was still feeling angry at both him and Raph on the inside.

"Fine…hook me up and get dis over with! I'm only doin' dis ta get ya off my back, Leo…!" Raph said grumpily before he walked over to Leatherhead and offered his arm to him so that the blood transfusion could begin.

"We will do the transfusion by connecting one end of the IV line to your vein, which will send your blood straight through to the other end that will be inserted into Michelangelo's vein…" Leatherhead said as he prepared the equipment and Raph's arm for the procedure.

Everyone held their breaths and watched on as the procedure was being carried out. One end of the IV line was connected to Raph's arm whilst the other end was connected to Mikey's arm, and Raph's blood immediately rushed through the tube and into Mikey's vein.

The procedure went on for 2 minutes and Raph was starting to feel really tired and drained from giving blood, but luckily, Leatherhead noticed that Mikey's blood pressure and vital signs were starting to stabilise themselves, so he carefully removed the IV line from Raph and Mikey's arms and bandaged them to stop them from bleeding. Donnie then went over to Raph and helped him up before he guided him out of the medical room to rest in the seating area.

"Leatherhead? Will Mikey be ok?" Leo asked nervously.

"Well…Physically, Michelangelo will heal well with rest, though there will be some scarring. Emotionally, however, I will not know until he awakens…" Leatherhead answered sadly in his 'Doctor Leatherhead' voice.

Even though Leo was relieved to hear that Mikey was going to be ok on the physical side, the feeling of dread started to build up in his heart and mind because there was a high chance that Mikey might wake up feeling emotionally worse than he felt before he tried to end his own life. He was then snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Leatherhead speak again.

"In the meantime, you, April, and Casey should wait outside in the seating room with your brothers. I will keep an eye on Michelangelo and alert you as soon as he shows signs of awakening…"

Leo and the others nodded in understanding since they knew where Leatherhead was going with this before they all left the medical room to let him watch over Mikey in peace.

When they reached the seating area, they saw Raph, who was starting to look better from donating blood to Mikey, and Donnie sat next to each other and looking at the others with confused but tired expressions on their faces since they were still not told as to why this happened.

"So, is anyone going to fill us in on what just happened back there?" Donnie asked first in a flat and annoyed tone.

Leo said nothing at first as he walked over to one of the chairs and slowly sat on it whilst trying to keep his anger under control.

"Err…Earth ta Leo…?" Raph then said impatiently.

Seconds after Raph spoke, Leo suddenly looked up at his brothers with a harsh glare whilst he reached into his belt and got out a folded piece of paper, which was Mikey's farewell letter, and raised it in front of them as he spoke in a heated tone.

"I went into Mikey's room hours ago, and found _this_!"

"What is that, Leo?" April asked nervously as she started to feel uneasy about what might be written on that piece of paper.

"I'll give you a good guess…it was placed on Mikey's bed next to a box that contained his mask…" Leo answered firmly without looking at April before he placed the note on the table and slid it towards Donnie, who caught it and unfolded it to allow him and Raph to read its contents.

"Leo, don't tell me that's…" April then said as soon as she got an inkling of what that note might be.

"Yes, April…that piece of paper…is Mikey's farewell letter!" Leo said whilst his voice got louder as he spoke his sentence, causing April and Casey to look at him in shock with widened eyes, whilst Raph and Donnie froze halfway through in reading the letter and looked at Leo with surprised but confused looks on their faces.

"Farewell letter?" Donnie questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"What's dis gotta do with what happened ta Mikey earlier?" Raph said firmly before he and Donnie watched as Leo sighed, closed his eyes, and covered them with his hands.

"You still don't get it, do you? And here I thought that both of you had figured it all out by now…especially you, Donatello…" Leo said in a slightly quiet but firm tone.

"What's dat suppose ta mean? I just wasted almost half of my blood on a useless nobody, thank you very much!" Raph said in an annoyed and tired tone after feeling offended by what Leo just said.

"Look, Leo, you need to give me a good reason why I shouldn't just get up and go back home right now because I don't have time for childish games since Master Splinter's life is at stake!" Donnie said heatedly.

"Childish games…? Useless nobody!? This is our baby brother we're talking about here!" Leo said angrily as he looked back at his brothers with another glare.

"Leo, he's not our-" Raph tried to answer back but Leo cut him off in a rage.

"HE ALMOST COMMITTED SUICIDE!"

Everyone froze with eyes widening to the size of dinner plates and stayed silent for what almost felt like hours when they heard Leo's words.

"Oh, man…so, it was true…" Casey said after a moment of silence as he shook his head slowly to try and deny that statement, but to no avail, because the hard evidence was right there in front of him. April, on the other hand, was so deep in shock that she got closer to Casey and buried her face on his chest as she started to break down in tears.

"What…? Why da shell would he take da cowardly way out instead of steppin' up and facin' his problems like a real ninja!?" Raph said heatedly without caring if he had insulted his youngest brother behind his back.

"Because…it's like I told you and Donatello before, Raphael…our treatment towards Mikey these past few days has gone way too far this time!" Leo answered whilst trying to keep his emotions in check, despite the developing tears in his eyes, before he continued on.

"Ever since that awful day, he's never been the same…he's not been eating properly, he's been avoiding us, and he's hardly left his room…When I went into his room and found him missing earlier, I noticed that Mikey had removed and stored away everything that he loves; his comic books, superhero posters, and action figures, and even his sketchbook was placed on top of one of the boxes… Also, Mikey's mask and letter were not the only things that I found on his bed…I found a large patch of blood on the mattress sheet…which was a sign that he's been hurting himself severely…"

Raph and Donnie watched on as Leo rubbed a hand across his face to wipe away the falling tears before their faces turned from shocked to frustrated and annoyed.

"So, what; we just gonna sit here and feel sorry fa him? Forget it, Leo! He needs ta get a grip, grow up, and help us out more!" Raph said angrily.

"He's right, Leo; Mikey's just wasting our time by holding us up here whilst father risks expiring in Cyberspace!" Donnie said firmly in agreement, with neither of them caring that Mikey almost died from bleeding to death from his wounds earlier.

"How dare you say things like that! This isn't you at all, you two...! Mikey has done everything he could to remind you all what it really means to be a family and to show you all that life isn't just about working and training all day every day!" April spat out whilst seething after hearing Raph and Donnie's words.

"Yeah! Mike might not be perfect as a ninja, but he's not a coward and he doesn't deserve ta be treated like he's a murderous scumbag, especially when he's out cold and defenseless!" Casey said angrily in agreement to April's words.

"Are you two seriously takin' his side!? He'll get ya both killed too if ya-" Raph said before he was cut off mid-sentence by an angry April.

"That won't ever happen because Mikey has never put our lives at risk, ever!"

"Are you sure about that, April? You might be saying that now, but trust me; one wrong move from Mikey whilst you two are around him, and your lives would either change for the worst or be destroyed…" Donnie said harshly with a raised eyebrow.

Close by, Leo watched the quarrel unfold with a shocked and angry look on his face. He just couldn't believe what he was hearing during this verbal stand-off between his brothers and human friends; Raph and Donnie were still heartlessly blaming Mikey for making them lose precious time in saving Master Splinter without even thinking about the physical and emotional damage that had been done to their youngest, and April and Casey were both trying but failing to support Leo by getting the two younger turtles to understand how much Mikey really means to everyone.

After another few minutes of hearing them argue, Leo finally had enough and snapped.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

The two sides stopped shouting at each other and turned to look at Leo with stunned looks on their faces before Leo spoke again.

"This whole thing has been going on for almost a week now, and it's getting ridiculous!"

Leo then looked at Donnie and continued talking.

"What happened to you, Donatello…? You and Mikey were so close, like two inseparable peas in a pod...best friends who would do a lot of things together…but now, you see him as your enemy, an enemy who you think should never be forgiven for his actions, no matter how hard he tries to atone and fix his mistakes…are you're really going to throw your friendship with Mikey away because of what _Viral _did to us!?"

This caused Donnie to freeze and look at Leo with wide eyes and open mouth for a moment before he sighed in frustration and looked away whilst clenching his fists without saying a word to counter Leo's comments about his recent attitude towards Mikey. In fact, he didn't have the chance to talk back because, shortly after being spoken to by him, Leo turned his attention to Raph and spoke to him next.

"And you, Raphael…despite having serious anger issues, you were always there for Mikey; protecting him from those who would try and harm him, and comforting him when he wasn't feeling his best either physically or emotionally...and in return, he would make sure that you wouldn't get too carried away with your anger-filled rampages by lightening the mood with his dance moves and funny jokes...Now, however, you look at Mikey as if to say that you despise him and would do anything to get him out of your life, for good...Well, let me tell you something right now; the only person who deserved to be despised at for their actions is _Viral_! She was the one who started this mess in the first place...How can you think that it's ok to deny the truth and put all the blame on Mikey who did everything he could to try and help us get back home!?"

This caused Raph to react in a similar way to how Donnie reacted to Leo's words, but his facial expression turned from anger to uncertainty after he looked away with a sigh.

However, Leo was not done with either of his brothers and he heatedly continued talking once again.

"Do you remember when we were tots a long time ago, and we made a brotherly oath to look after and protect our baby brother, no matter what happens during our life as ninjas and as a family? Well now, we've broken that oath by allowing our baby brother to become the scapegoat to Viral's actions and Master Splinter's disappearance…and encouraging him to try and take his own life because of it and how we've been treating him…"

Soon after finishing his speech, the atmosphere in the sitting area became more tense and awkward since the three brothers were no longer speaking to one another, and April and Casey couldn't find the appropriate words to say to them to try and help their turtle friends, despite their anger and disappointment towards Raph and Donnie.

Then, the sound of a door opening was heard coming from the medical room entrance before a familiar voice spoke out from it.

"Leonardo…"

Everyone looked over to the medical room entrance to see Leatherhead standing halfway out of the medical room with a worried look on his face.

"What is it, Leatherhead? Is Mikey ok…?" Leo said after sighing whilst trying to keep his emotions in check.

"He is slowly starting to come around, but…he seems to be having some difficulty doing so…" Leatherhead answered before he looked back at a now restless Mikey in concern when he noticed that he was struggling to wake up from his slumber.

"Alright, I'll be right there…" Leo said in a slightly calmer tone before he turned to look at his brothers again and spoke in a firm tone.

"If you two want to go back home instead of staying here, then do what you want cos I'm not stopping you…but before you go, though…take my advice; swallow your pride for once and think about what I just told you…Now, if you'll excuse me…"

And with that, Leo turned around and made his way towards the medical room to go and check on Mikey with Leatherhead. April and Casey watched him go before they looked at Raph and Donnie, who were still standing quietly like statues.

"So, what are you two gonna do now?" Casey questioned with a slight glare.

"Well, the only thing we can do…is go back home to our lair…" Donnie answered quietly whilst still in shock from Leo's words.

"Yeah…there's nothin' else fa us ta do here, anyway…" Raph said flatly in agreement.

"Wha-? Guys, please…! Mikey needs you right now…go in there, and tell him that you really do love him still!" April said firmly but desperately to try and encourage the two brothers to go and see Mikey.

"Sorry, April…but us two going in there won't change anything…Leo and Leatherhead are taking care of him, anyway…besides, we need to go now; we've got a father and sensei to save…" Donnie said whilst slowly shaking his head before he and Raph turned around and headed towards Leatherhead's lair entrance until they disappeared into the darkness of the sewers.

The human couple watched on with shocked looks on their faces. They couldn't believe that Raph and Donnie would have the audacity to just walk away from their youngest brother, who needed them, and were still only focused on saving Master Splinter from Cyberspace without anyone else to help them.

Casey then looked down as he growled in anger after the two turtles left before he felt April's hand on his shoulder as she spoke in a sad but calm tone.

"Come on, Casey…let's go check on Mikey…he needs us right now…"

Casey's angry eyes softened as he looked into April's saddened eyes before he calmed down and nodded with a grunt, and he and April then began their walk towards the medical room since Mikey will need a lot of help from those around him as soon as he's awakened from his troubled slumber.


	10. Part 10-Why?

Part 10-Why?

_Unknown..._

All that Mikey saw when he opened his eyes and looked around from where he was standing was darkness. It was also quiet and cold, causing him to shiver in the process.

"H-Hello…?" Mikey called out nervously. After a moment of silence, he stepped forward and tried again.

"Hello? I-Is anyone there?"

Again, Mikey was left with silence as his answer. After spending another couple of minutes walking around and searching for anyone else who might be here with him, he fell onto his knees and wrapped his arms around himself. He was starting to feel really cold and a bit scared since there was nothing but darkness all around him. Then;

_"Michelangelo…"_

A faint but familiar voice echoed through the darkness, causing Mikey to lift his head up and look around vigorously to find out where it was coming from. When he looked behind him, his eyes widened; standing right there was his sensei and father-figure, Master Splinter!

"F-Father…?" Mikey said despite telling himself earlier that he didn't deserve to call his Master 'Father'. As he reached out for his sensei, the old rat scowled and his eyes changed from normal to bright red before he spoke in a venomous tone.

"Do _not _call me that! You no longer have the right to call me by that title!"

Mikey was taken aback with a horrified face by that statement; his sensei head never spoken to him in such a cruel way, ever. Even when he did something silly or made a mistake during training, Master Splinter's voice would always remain firm but soft for when it came to disciplining his sons. Mikey was then snapped out of his thoughts when Master Splinter spoke again.

"You have brought shame and dishonour to this family…after you did _this _to me!"

Mikey's eyes widened even more in shock as Master Splinter showed himself more from the darkness, revealing his distorted data-bit body to him.

"N-No…I-It wasn't my fault…! It was Viral-" Mikey tried to defend himself and tell his father that he wasn't to blame, but he was cut off mid-sentence by the old sensei in a harsh tone.

"Lies! I had always kept my hopes up that you would one day be the ninja and son that I had always wanted…but I was wrong…you have destroyed this family with your stupidity and childish behaviour!"

"No, please…! Please, believe me! I didn't-"

_"He's right…"_

Mikey gasped as he heard another familiar voice cut him off, and it was coming from his right side. He looked over in that direction and saw his oldest brother, Leo, standing there whilst looking at him with a stern look on his face.

"L-Leo…?!" Mikey said shakily as he stood back up and walked one step forward towards the duo. As he was about to take another step forward, however, Leo unsheathed his katana swords and pointed them at Mikey, making him stop dead in his tracks.

"You stay the shell away from me and my father!" Leo said in a threatening tone.

"W-Wha…? Leo, what are you doing!?" Mikey said in shock and disbelief when he saw his own brother threatening to stab him with his weapons.

"I was a fool to think that I could help you…Because of your actions, I am now _dead_!" Leo growled out before he stepped forward and revealed his battered and bloodied body to Mikey, who went wide-eyed upon the sight in front of him.

"No…no, you can't be…!" He said as he slowly shook his head to try and deny what Leo just said.

"It's all real, Mikey…I died whilst trying to save you from falling in that sewer tunnel!" Leo spat out venomously, causing Mikey to gasp as he suddenly remembered that fateful moment.

_"You monster!" "Murderer!"_

Two more familiar voices then echoed around them before Mikey looked and saw Raph and Donnie appearing from both sides. Mikey could tell that they were extremely angry with him by the way his brothers were looking at him with faces filled with rage.

"R-Raph…D-Donnie…!?" Mikey said shakily before he reached out towards them with his hand.

"Shut up! You don't deserve to speak to us, not after what you've done to our father and brother!" Donnie shouted out whilst slapping away Mikey's hand in anger.

"Yeah! Ya made us lose not one but two of our important family members cos of you and ya cursed existence!" Raph shouted out in agreement whilst looking at Mikey with now angry red eyes.

"No, please! I didn't-"

_POW! _"Argh!"

Mikey was suddenly cut off mid-sentence when a recognisably strong and green fist punched him in the face, knocking him down hard to the ground and blood trickling from his nose. He held his pain-filled nose as he looked up at Raph with teary eyes.

"Don't ya dare come anywhere near us!" Raph said angrily with his fist covered in blood after punching Mikey.

"You are no longer part of this family…for your presence is a disgrace to the Hamato name!" Master Splinter said firmly before he signalled the older turtles to follow him as he turned away from a distraught Mikey, who watched on as his family started to walk away from him.

"No…please…Don't go…!" He said tearfully as he tried to move forward and go after his family, but he wasn't going anywhere as his feet only moved on one spot like he was running on a treadmill. He then tripped and fell to the ground.

As he slowly got on his hands and knees, Mikey looked up to see Donnie stop and turn his head halfway to look at him.

"You're nothing to any of us now…just a dead turtle walking…" Donnie said in a disappointed tone before he turned away again and continued walking away until he and the others faded away into the darkness.

"Don't go, please! Don't leave me…I'm sorry!" Mikey cried out whilst reaching a hand out to try and get them to stop and come back, but his efforts were left in vain as his family soon vanished into the darkness completely.

With deep despair and sadness building in his heart, Mikey bowed his head as he started to sob with tears falling down his face. A moment later;

_"Mikey…wake up…"_

The young turtle gasped as he swiftly looked up as soon as he heard a voice call out his name before his vision was suddenly shrouded by a flash of light.

_/_

_In the medical room…_

Leo entered the medical room and saw for himself that Mikey was struggling to wake up from his unconscious state, probably because he was having a nightmare judging by the pained look on his face and the amount of sweat that his forehead was producing.

He immediately headed over to the bed and gently place one hand on Mikey's head and the other on his chest.

"Mikey? Mikey, it's ok…wake up…" He said softly to try and bring him out of his slumber.

"N-No…p-please…d-don't…" Mikey mumbled whilst grimacing as he slightly moved his head from side to side, even with Leo's hand on his head.

"Shhh…Mikey, you're dreaming…whatever it is that you're experiencing is not real…" Leo soothed as he tried to calm his brother down and wake him up at the same time.

"D-Don't go…P-Please…D-Don't leave me…m'sorry…" Mikey mumbled as he once again continued his painful struggle to come around and wake up.

"Mikey, wake up!" Leo said desperately.

A moment later, everyone heard Mikey let out a small gasp and they watched as his eyes began to flutter open. Soon, Mikey's eyes were fully open but they showed exhaustion and dullness still.

"Oh, thank goodness…you are awake, my friend…" Leatherhead said first in relief after seeing his friend awake again.

Mikey heard the familiar voice of his large reptile friend, but he was more focused on trying to find his oldest brother with his still blurry eyes.

"L-Leo…?" He said in a slight panic as he weakly looked for him whilst trying to get a clearer vision.

"I'm here, Mikey…I'm so glad you're awake…" Leo said instantly as he gently held one of Mikey's hands to let him know that he was there.

"A-Are you…a g-ghost…!?" Mikey then said in a scared tone as his eyes widened when he got a closer look at Leo, who was taken aback in shock at what he had just heard before he replied.

"Wha…? No, I'm still alive, bro…! Why would you say that?"

"I-I…I thought that…I killed you…" Mikey replied with tears developing in his eyes.

"No, no…I'm still here, in the flesh…" Leo said immediately before he squeezed Mikey's hand gently to prove to him that he really was alive, resulting in the young turtle flinching from the contact. "See? You can feel that, can't you?"

All Leo got as a response was a silent nod from his little brother, who had calmed down slightly after feeling the squeezing sensation before allowing his tears to fall. After thinking what might be troubling Mikey when he thought that Leo was dead, the blue-banded turtle suddenly remembered the incident back in the sewer tunnel and looked at his little brother as he spoke.

"You had a nightmare about me being dead after saving you, is that right?"

Again, Leo was given a silent nod from a sniffling Mikey as a response, even though he wanted to say that there was more than that going on in his dream.

"Listen to me, Mikey; whatever you experienced in your nightmare was _not_ real…ok? Everyone is alive and still with us, including you…" Leo then said reassuringly with a sad smile.

"S-So…I'm still alive?" Mikey said flatly but shakily.

"Yes, Mikey…I saved you from falling back in the sewer tunnels after you passed out hours ago…" Leo answered after letting out a sad sigh.

"W-Where am I now, then…?" Mikey then asked in a confused tone as he noticed that they weren't in their own lair. Before Leo could answer that, Leatherhead had beaten him to it whilst moving closer to the bed.

"My friend, you are in the medical room within my lair…"

"L-Leatherhead?" Mikey said as his eyes widened when he saw his large reptile friend, who only nodded and smiled warmly at him as a response.

"Mikey…" "Hey, man…Welcome back ta da land of da livin'…" The voices of April and Casey were then heard before the human duo made their appearance as they walked closer to the bed, causing Mikey to look at them in surprise before he spoke.

"A-April…C-Casey…? W-Why are you here…?"

"We were all so worried about you, Mikey…! After Leo told us about what you tried to do earlier, we just…" April said before she cut herself off and looked down slightly due to not wanting to remember the reason why Mikey tried to end his own life.

"Yeah, we almost lost ya from da blood loss, man…!" Casey then said firmly but softly.

"That's right; you lost so much blood, Mikey, that I had to call Raph over here to donate some of his own to you in order to save you…Donnie came over too…but they've gone back to the lair now..." Leo said with a shudder when he thought back to that intense moment earlier today.

Mikey stayed silent for a moment as he went wide-eyed after hearing that Raph donated his own blood to someone like him, especially since he and Donnie have said that they wanted nothing to do with him anymore. It was then that he realised something; if everyone was present when he was first found out cold and bleeding from his wounds, then that would mean that everyone must have known about what he had been doing to himself lately.

"S-So…you all know now…about this, huh…" He said nervously as he nodded towards his bandaged arms, both of which he couldn't move due to the soreness and tightness that he was feeling right now.

"Yes, Mikey…we all know about your…problem…" Leo said with another sad sigh.

"That's one way to put it…" Mikey said bitterly with narrowed eyes.

"Why would ya do dis ta yourself, man…? Ya could've died!" Casey asked firmly but worryingly since he was desperate to know the reason why Mikey would hurt himself in such a terrible way.

"B-Because I deserve it…after everything I put everyone through all these years…!" Mikey said slowly with a scowl whilst trying his best not to cry.

"That's not true, Mikey…! You've done nothing to deserve such a terrible thing! We love you as you are…" April said firmly with tears developing in her eyes.

"Michelangelo, you were the first true friend I ever made…if anything terrible happened to you, I would be extremely upset and heartbroken…" Leatherhead said as he placed a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder.

With widened eyes, Mikey looked at each of his friends and Leo before he sighed and lowered his head to avoid eye contact with them all. As much as he wanted to appreciate their concerns about him and his wellbeing as well as saving him from death's door, Mikey couldn't help but feel that he was making things worse for everyone by forcing them to drop everything that they were doing for the sake of saving his life.

"Why…Why did you save me, Leo…?" Mikey said quietly whilst looking down with eyes full of sadness and shame.

"What? Mikey, I saved you because you're my brother!" Leo responded in shock after hearing what Mikey just said.

"No…No, I'm not…not anymore, remember…?" Mikey countered back whilst slowly shaking his head in denial.

"Mikey…please…I didn't-" Leo tried to verbally reach out to Mikey, but he was then cut off by the young turtle, who slowly looked up at him with a sad but frustrated glare as he spoke.

"You don't understand…I _WANTED _TO DIE!"

Everyone gasped in horror at those words before Mikey spoke again.

"Why didn't you let me fall back in that tunnel!? I was just doing what you all wanted me to do because you're right; I don't have a real place in this family anymore, nobody wants to be around me because I'm only a bother to them… I mean, you look at me right now and all you see is a useless screw-up, a monster, a _murderer_! I don't deserve to live after everything I've done! Everyone would be much happier if I was dead! Including Master Splinter!"

"How can you say that!? You've done nothing wrong! You're not any of those things, Mikey, because they're not true! You have never harmed us…and Father would be so heartbroken if he found out that you killed yourself over something that you didn't do!" Leo said firmly but softly as he placed his hands on Mikey's shoulders.

"I-I…I don't deserve an amazing father like him, cos I'm nothing but a failure to him! I never became the son that he always wanted me to be…just like how I never became the brother that you, Raph, and Donnie wanted me to be…cos I never changed as I got older…I didn't want to, but I realised now that I should've…it's too late now, though…the damage has already been done…a-and it's all my fault…!" Mikey replied as he hiccupped and sniffled during the process before he flinched as two strong arms engulfed him into a hug. As soon as he recognised the green skin of his oldest brother, he pressed his face against the blue-banded turtle's shoulder and broke down again. After all, he missed these brotherly hugs so much and it felt like it had been years since he last had one from any of his older brothers.

"Shhh, shhh…No, Mikey, it's not…it's _our _fault for taking everything out on you…and it's Viral's fault for taking Master Splinter, our father, away from us…he took the hit because we're his sons, and he loved us all as equals…" Leo said soothingly as he rocked his baby brother gently to try and ease his emotional pain whilst trying to maintain his own emotions after hearing those heart-breaking words from him.

"I-It should've been me…" Mikey mumbled quietly through gritted teeth after a moment of silence.

"What?" Leo said as he slightly loosened the hug to look at Mikey's face when he heard him speak.

"Sensei didn't deserve to be blasted and scattered all over Cyberspace! It should've been _me_! IT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME!" Mikey cried out whilst punching the mattress in frustration and sadness, despite the pain it was causing in his wounds during the process.

"Mikey, stop…nobody deserved to suffer such a terrible fate…We're all important to each other in this family, including you…Yes, we're all different in terms of personality and skills, but that's what makes our team special and unique…" Leo countered back as he placed a comforting hand on Mikey's wet cheek before he heard the young turtle speak again.

"Y-You're wrong…y-you all have a vital role to play in this family and team…I don't…cos I'm just…extra baggage…that's become everyone's burden after being carried around for far too long…I'm tired of dragging people down because of my mistakes and stupidity… I-I've had enough…please, just…put an end to me…and end everyone's suffering…"

Everyone around Mikey looked at him in even more horror with widened eyes after what they just heard from him. The way he spoke to Leo made it sound like he was not only giving up on himself but also on living still, causing them to feel even more worried about the young turtle. Before April, Casey, or Leatherhead could say anything to protest against his words, Leo had beaten them to it.

"No way, Mikey…I will _never_ do such a thing…we've all made mistakes throughout the years, including me…you're not alone in this, little brother…!" It was then that Leo remembered something that he told Mikey a few years ago.

"Remember when you had that rematch with Kluh a few years ago, and only I helped you prepare for it despite going through some personal issues myself?"

"Mmm-hmm…" Mikey hummed sadly whilst avoiding eye contact with his big brother, who then continued speaking.

"Before you fought Kluh, I said something really important that would help you get through it. Do you remember the words that I told you?"

Mikey nodded but didn't say anything, so Leo reminded him by slowly and softly saying those important words from that day.

"I told you that, 'In this life, we only have each other…If one of us goes down, we all go down.' In other words, Mikey; our team and family would completely fall apart if you left us…"

"B-But…everyone's been doing fine without me…why keep having me around…when I don't do anything useful for you all?" Mikey said tearfully with closed eyes. Leo sighed a little before he answered Mikey's question.

"Mikey, even though Raph and Donnie said that they were doing fine without you in terms of finding and gathering Master Splinter's data bits from Cyberspace, they weren't being 100% truthful with their words and feelings…because they really are nowhere near finished with gathering all the data bits since it was only those two getting them back…"

"W-What…?" Mikey said as he looked up at his brother with a confused look on his face.

"Their progress has been really slow ever since we first started our mission to rescue Master Splinter by getting back his data-bits from Cyberspace, and they have only retrieved a handful of them during this past week…This shows that deep down they really do need more help, including yours…" Leo answered with a sad smile before he continued. "As soon as you are well enough, we'll head back home…"

"I…I don't want to go back home right now, Leo…" Mikey instantly said as he sadly looked away with tears in his eyes once again.

"Mikey…" Leo was about to try and encourage Mikey to try and come back home with him, but the youngest turtle was having none of it.

"I'm sorry, Leo, but I just can't go back there…I'm sorry…" Mikey said firmly before he laid his head down and turned his head away from Leo who was about to respond before Leatherhead stepped in.

"Leonardo, if I may…"

Leo turned his head from Mikey to look at Leatherhead, who approached him and spoke quietly and closely into Leo's ear to prevent Mikey from hearing him.

"I believe that it would be best if Michelangelo were to remain here with me during his recovery…the current situation in your lair might not be of much help to him at the moment and may encourage him to try and make another attempt in ending his life again…"

As much as Leo wanted to go against leaving Mikey here with just Leatherhead during his recovery, he knew that the big guy was right; if Mikey returned to the lair with him in the current state that he was in now, the combination of that and Raph and Donnie's attitudes towards him could trigger more depressive and suicidal thoughts in his mind.

"Alright…I accept your offer, Leatherhead…thank you again for helping us…" Leo whispered with a nod before he turned to look at Mikey again.

"Mikey, we've decided that you should stay here with Leatherhead until your wounds have healed. Don't worry, though; he will look after you and I'll come back and visit to see how you're doing…ok?" He said in a serious but soft tone.

"Fine…" Mikey replied quietly and flatly with a small sigh despite still feeling sad on the inside before he stifled a yawn and his eyes began to droop.

"Get some more sleep, Mikey…you've been through a lot…" Leo said softly as he brought the blanket up from Mikey's lap to his shoulders and tucked him in. "I'll come back and check on you tomorrow…"

Mikey wanted to respond to that last sentence, but he couldn't because he was trying his hardest not to cry again. Instead, he just looked tiredly at Leo with sad tear-filled eyes and gave him a small nod before looking down once more.

"Hey…" Leo said softly before he enveloped Mikey's upper body into another hug after he saw how hard Mikey was trying to keep himself together.

"Don't worry, little brother…things will get better…I promise…" He then said soothingly before he watched as Mikey let his tears fall from his closed eyes and slowly fell asleep in his big brother's hold.

Leo smiled warmly at the sight before he gently kissed Mikey's head, slowly laid him back onto the bed, and tucked him in again. He then turned around to look at the others before he spoke.

"Take good care of him, Leatherhead…As I said earlier, I will come back tomorrow to see how he's doing…"

Leatherhead nodded in understanding before Leo looked at April and Casey as he spoke again.

"Let's go home, guys…we've done what we can for today…"

April and Casey nodded and looked at Mikey one more time before they both started walking towards the exit with Leo after they said goodbye and goodnight to Leatherhead, who then went to check Mikey's vitals one more time after he watched his friends leave his home and into the darkness of the sewer tunnels.


	11. Part 11-Realisation

Part 11-Realisation

The walk from Leatherhead's lair to the turtles' lair was both a quiet and sad one because a few minutes after leaving, Leo suddenly broke down after all of his sad emotions that he kept bottled up for too long in order to stay strong for Mikey's sake had finally exploded from the pressure. He was immediately engulfed into a hug by Casey whilst April rubbed his head soothingly to try and calm him down.

As he cried, Leo kept saying how bad of a brother he was due to being involved in causing Mikey's depressive state, and how he should've done more to prevent all of this from happening. April and Casey gave him words of comfort and encouragement by saying that it wasn't his fault and that what had happened during and after the time-traveling incident was beyond his control.

Soon, Leo began to settle down with just the odd couple of sniffles and hiccups remaining, and Casey slowly released him from the hug to allow the blue-banded turtle to wipe his tears away and recollect himself.

"T-Thanks, guys…" He said in a raspy voice due to the amount of crying he just did.

"Hey…Don't worry about it, man…ya needed ta release all dat sadness dat ya held inside of ya all dis time…!" Casey replied with a warm smirk.

"That's right, Leo…Leader or not, you're hurting too and you have every right to let it all out!" April said softly in agreement with Casey's words.

Leo nodded to his human friends with a sad smile before he told them that he was ready to continue on with their walk towards the lair.

/

_The turtles' lair…_

Leo, April, and Casey soon arrived and entered the turtles' lair and the first thing they saw when they approached the entrance was Donnie sitting on his chair at the dining table and was just staring at his hot drink with a blank face, meaning that he was deep in thought about something.

It wasn't until a moment later that they saw Raph appearing from the kitchen carrying a warm drink in one hand and a plate with a sandwich on top in the other. Then, they heard Raph talking to Donnie, so they stayed low and quiet as they listened in on their conversation.

_"Come on, Don, ya gotta eat somethin' sooner or later…!" _

_"I don't have time for that, Raph…! Besides, I'm fine and I'm not hungry…"_

_"Ya don't look it though, bro…da last time ya said somethin' like dat, ya passed out in front of me minutes later!"_

April and Casey gasped at that before they looked at Leo, who nodded at them to confirmed that what Raph said was true since he was called over by Raph to help make sure that Donnie was ok. The trio then continued their focus on the conversation as Donnie spoke again.

_"That was _one _time, Raph...! That hasn't happened again since then…"_

_"Yeah, cos Leo and I had ta force ya ta eat a decent meal and go ta bed early after dat day… C'mon, bro, we can't keep doin' dis…ya not da only one who's exhausted from dis non-stop mission…!"_

_"This 'non-stop mission' as you may call it is about getting Master Splinter, our father, back home before something bad happens to any of his data-bits! Are you seriously thinking about stopping and allowing that to happen, Raph!?" _

_"Of course not, Donnie…! I'm just sayin' dat we won't be able ta continue if we keep runnin' ourselves ragged! I get dat what we need ta do is important, but everyone needs a break once in a while…an hour or two won't hurt, ya know…!"_

_"I can't take that risk, Raph…! Mikey has already made things more complicated for us both before _and_ after_ _Master Splinter was hit by the decompiler…Now he wants to run away from fixing his own mistakes by attempting to commit suicide!? I'm not wasting any more of my time with him! He's no help to us, anyway…"_

Leo, April, and Casey gasped in shock and horror and their eyes widened after hearing this from Donnie. However, what Raph was about to say next shocked them even more.

_"Look, Don, I get how ya feelin' about all dis…really, I do…but, ta be honest, when I saw Mikey on da brink of dyin' on dat bed at Leatherhead's place, I just felt like…erm…"_

_"Like what, Raph?"_

_"I don't know…like somethin' had hit me really hard in da chest at the sight of him in dat state…and it made me think…Do we really want dis? Make Mikey leave us dat badly?"_

_"Wait…are you telling me that Mikey's actions were based on our desires for him to leave us alone!? That's ridiculous, Raph…!"_

_"Is it, Don? Cos, as much as I hate ta say dis, but Leo might have made a point about how we've been treated him lately…I mean, do we really think dat Mikey is da main root of our problems, especially after what happened durin' our travel back ta our own time?"_

Leo was stunned after hearing that, mostly on the part where Raph actually might have agreed with him about Mikey's treatment by his older brothers. He smiled a little at that before he was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Donnie sigh in frustration before speaking again.

_"Raph, I really don't want to talk about this right now…!"_

_"Then, when should we talk about dis, Donnie? I know ya tryin' ta run away from da fact dat we're blamin' Mikey fa somethin' dat I know he would never do ta anybody…! There, I said it! Why can't ya just let go of your denial too?"_

_"This isn't about him right now, Raph…! Our top priority is getting our father back home safe and alive!"_

_"Well, why don't we ask fa more back up in our mission? Cos, face it; us two alone ain't enough ta get our dad back home faster!"_

_"The others are more focused on doing things here in the real world than helping us with our mission in Cyberspace, Raph! We're the only ones who actually care about rescuing our father!"_

Leo, April, and Casey became deeply shocked after hearing those words about them not being there for Raph and Donnie in saving Master Splinter, before they flinched when Donnie slammed his fist down on the table after saying them.

Having heard enough, Leo walked out of the hiding place with April and Casey following him from behind seconds later.

At the corner of their eyes, Raph and Donnie spotted Leo and their human friends walking towards them with a mixture of sad and firm looks on their faces, causing a wave of awkwardness to hit them and look away.

"Sorry, did we interrupt something important?" Leo asked flatly.

"No…we just finished talking…right, Raph?" Donnie answered, even though they truly weren't finished with their chat.

"Y-Yeah…H-How's Mikey doin', by da way?" Raph said shakily without hesitating his feelings about Mikey's condition in front of Donnie.

"To be honest, Raph, I don't know…in fact, I'm not sure if Mikey will ever fully recover from this…" Leo said firmly with narrowed eyes.

"What da ya mean by dat? Why da ya think dat da knucklehead won't recover?" Raph then questioned with wide eyes.

"Of course ya don't know why; you two left just minutes before he woke up, fa cryin' out loud!" Casey said firmly as he stepped forward with anger seething within him.

"That's right; both of you didn't see how upset Mikey was when we spoke to him…he told us that he _really_ _wanted_ to die since he felt like he was nothing but a bothersome burden to us all!" April said in the same tone before tears began to develop in her eyes.

Raph looked at the trio with wide eyes and open mouth before looking down whilst Donnie just looked at his now lukewarm drink with narrowed eyes. Leo then walked over to the table and took a seat before he spoke.

"Even though Leatherhead said that Mikey will recover physically, it's his spiritual and emotional wounds that he's unsure of…Look, I'm sorry to say this, but we've heard everything you both said earlier as soon as we came back…"

This caused Raph and Donnie to freeze in shock. Neither of them had expected anyone to have overheard their conversation until now, but it was Donnie who was the first to feel ticked off about that and speak in an annoyed tone after hearing this.

"So, you guys thought that it was ok to eavesdrop on us when we're talking about something that is none of your business?"

"It _is _our business where Mikey is concerned, Donnie…I can't believe that the sight of your only little brother on the verge of dying didn't phase you at all…I was close to breaking down myself when I first saw him like that, but I had to wait until I left Leatherhead's lair before I could let it all out!" Leo answered firmly with arms crossed.

"Why should it? He did that to himself because he's a coward who just runs away from his mistakes!" Donnie spat out without caring if he had just insulted his own baby brother behind his back again.

"You know that cowards pick on the weak, Donnie, and Mikey is neither of those things! Like you three and Master Splinter, Mikey is a victim in this too!" April said defensively.

"You and Casey weren't there when we were fighting for our lives to get back to our own time and during the argument between us and Mikey ages ago, April…so don't make assumptions on something that you weren't present in!" Donnie said heatedly.

"But what we _don't_ agree with you on the most in your statement with Raph is where you accused us of not caring about saving Master Splinter…You know that's not true at all!" Leo countered back.

"Yeah! And we _have _tried to offer you our help a dozen times with getting Master Splinter back home, but you would just ignore us or push us away each time and tell us that you could handle it yourselves!" April then said as she stepped forward with an irked look on her face whilst Casey grunted with a nod as he looked at Raph and Donnie in anger.

Donnie looked away slightly as he sighed tiredly. He was getting frustrated and anxious at the same time because he felt that the more they carried on with this discussion, the less time Master Splinter has left whilst stuck in Cyberspace.

"Stop it, Don…"

"Huh?" Donnie said as he snapped out of his thoughts and looked up when he heard Casey's voice.

"Stop thinkin' about Splinter fa a minute and think about Mikey instead…cos I know dat, deep down, ya need him right now…" Casey said firmly but softly to the purple-banded turtle who was wondering how Casey knew what he was thinking.

"Casey's right, Donnie…you and Raph have only managed to get a small handful of Master Splinter's data bits after just one week from starting the mission in getting them back. Don't you think that's a sign telling you to pause for a moment and think about what the next best course of action would be? Like getting more back up, for example?" Leo said in a firm but caring tone as he felt that Donnie was starting to become obsessed with rescuing Master Splinter with just Raph alone.

However, Donnie's face began to change from confused to angry before he looked at Casey first and spoke.

"How would you know about what my needs are right now? I don't need Mikey here messing around and screwing up everything that I've worked so hard for to get Master Splinter home! He can stay away forever for all I care because at least we'll be able to something important without anything going wrong!"

Everyone, including Raph, gasped after hearing such hurtful words before Donnie turned away from Casey to look at Leo as he spoke again.

"And you…!? You're supposed to be our leader, but instead of focusing on taking the lead in rescuing our own father in Cyberspace, you decided to try and pick up after Mikey whenever he's feeling sorry for himself!"

"Donnie…! That's not-" Leo snapped in shock and was about to retort to Donnie's statement before Raph suddenly spoke out.

"Wait…Where is Mikey, anyway?" Raph asked after noticing just now that Mikey was not with them when they came in.

"Ohhhh…Now ya ask dat question…!" Casey said in a sarcastic way with his arms raised in the air as he said it.

"He's staying at Leatherhead's lair until his wounds have healed…Leo has agreed with Leatherhead that it would be for the best since bringing him home now might make things more complicated during his recovery in terms of his mental wellbeing…" April explained with her arms crossed.

"Oh, ok…" That was all that Raph could quietly say as he looked down slightly with an unsure look on his face.

"Well, that's fine by me…we don't need him here, anyway…" Donnie said flatly with no emotions coming from his voice. He then picked up his now cold coffee from the table and was about to leave when Leo spoke.

"Donnie, wait…we're not done yet…"

"Why? What is it now?" Donnie said in frustration as he turned around and looked at his oldest brother.

"Before you go, there's something I need to show you…something that I couldn't explain to you before yesterday…" Leo answered him firmly but sadly.

Raph and Donnie looked at each other with a confused but unsure look on their faces, with April and Casey doing the same since they did not know what Leo was talking about.

"What da ya mean?" Raph questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Come with me to the meditation area, and I will explain…" Leo answered before he looked at April and Casey.

"April, you and Casey wait in the living room until we've finished. We shouldn't be too long…"

The human duo nodded in understanding before they got themselves comfortable in the living room and watched as Leo and his two brothers, despite the reluctance from Donnie, made their way towards the meditation area.

/

_The meditation room…_

The three turtle brothers reached the meditation room, and Leo immediately began setting up and lighting the candles in a circle.

"Ok, Leo…what's goin' on?" Raph asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, what is it that you're not telling us?" Donnie said firmly with his arms crossed.

Leo looked at both of his younger brothers with a firm expression on his face before he answered their questions.

"Alright, listen up…what I found yesterday during my meditation was really upsetting…I was in the astral plane where I sensed a wave of uneasiness and negativity. As soon as I followed it to the source, I saw an orange orb that was surrounded by a mass of darkness just minutes after finding it…"

"An orange orb?" Donnie said in thought.

"Wait…Ya not sayin' dat da orb was…" Raph then said nervously as soon as a theory on what the orb was popped into his mind.

"Yes, the orange orb that I found represents Mikey's spiritual being…I figured that out when I heard his voice echoing from within it…and what I heard him say broke my heart…" Leo answered firmly but softly.

"What did he say?" Raph asked anxiously.

"Well, let's just say that he took everything that you scolded him for to heart because the words he said were like a repeated mixtape; they were the same words that you two told him yesterday…"

Raph and Donnie gasped and looked at each other with widened eyes when they heard what Leo just said.

"Look, it's better if I showed you…come and sit in the circle and meditate with me…please…" Leo then said with a sigh as he signalled his brothers to sit inside the circle.

Despite their reluctance, Raph and Donnie sat down into their positions for meditation and waited for Leo to tell them what to do next.

"Thank you…Now, close your eyes and clear your minds whilst you find your center…then, allow your energy to find mine and it will take you to the astral plane…" Leo instructed slowly and calmly as he did the steps himself.

Raph and Donnie did what Leo said and soon their spiritual energies were guided by Leo's and began their journey towards the astral plane. A moment later, their spiritual energies arrived and manifested into their respective physical forms. As soon as this happened, Leo was suddenly hit with another negative energy wave.

"Ugh…It's that feeling again…but it's much more intense this time…" He said aloud to himself whilst wincing in discomfort.

"Leo, what's going on?" Donnie questioned as soon as he felt the same sensation that Leo felt seconds before.

"Yeah, and why does my body feel heavy all of a sudden?" Raph asked with discomfort shown on his face.

"I don't know for sure, but I've got a bad feeling for what might be causing us to feel like this…Come on, follow me…" Leo answered worryingly before he signalled his brothers to follow him as he started his walk towards where Mikey's orb is located.

A few minutes later, the three brothers had reached the orange orb's location, but instead of seeing the orb itself, they found themselves in front of a huge shroud of darkness in the form of a wall.

"What da shell!?" Raph said in shock as he looked at the darkness in horror.

"T-This…No…It's gotten bigger since I last saw it…!" Leo said with wide eyes.

"What? What do you mean, Leo?" Donnie questioned with a raised eyebrow whilst feeling anxious on the inside.

"When I first saw the darkness around Mikey's orb, it was smaller than this…but, now…it's grown even bigger!" Leo explained in horror.

"Seriously!?" Raph said in surprise and shock as he looked back and forth from the dark wall to Leo.

_'H-Help me…'_

The three turtle brothers jumped with a startled gasp when they heard a faint child-like voice coming from within the wall of darkness.

"What the-? Who was that?" Donnie said whilst looking around to find the source of the voice.

_'M-Make it stop…'_

"Who's there? Show ya self!" Raph said firmly before he took a few steps away from the dark wall.

_'Don't weave me…I-It hurts…'_

"That voice…it sounds so young and in pain…" Leo said worryingly whilst in thought on who that voice belonged to.

_'B-Big B-Brudders…'_

It was that last sentence that snapped the three older brothers into realisation, because not only was the voice coming from the other side of the dark wall, but they also recognised the child-like voice as Mikey's!

"Mikey? I-It can't be…" Leo said shakily before he walked closer to the wall and took a look through it since it was slightly transparent.

It was then that Leo spotted a small figure, which was curled up and glowing slightly in an orange-coloured hue, causing Leo to gasp and back away slightly when he figured out what it was.

"No way…" He said in shock.

"What is it, Leo?" Donnie said curiously.

"I saw him…Mikey is on the other side of that wall!" Leo answered as he looked at his brothers with wide eyes.

"What!?" Raph said as he looked back and forth from Leo to the wall.

With the strong feeling of wanting to help his baby brother burning inside him, Leo approached the wall and touched it before he watched with eyes still wide as his arm went straight through it, causing a feeling of numbness, but no pain, to flow through it.

"Hey, what are ya doin'!?" Raph then shouted out as soon as he saw what Leo was trying to do.

"I'm going in there to help my baby brother!" Leo replied firmly with determination in his eyes before he continued moving through the wall.

Raph growled as he looked at Donnie before he and the purple-banded brother followed Leo's lead and slowly walked through the dark wall to the other side where Mikey was located.

/

_The other side of the wall…_

The three turtle brothers successfully made it through to the other side of the dark wall without any problems despite feeling a bit numb from the wall's effects on their bodies. Once they had a moment to get their bearings, they started to look around for signs of Mikey.

It was then that Leo spotted something on the ground just a few feet away that made his heart sink and his eyes widen; there was his baby brother curled up on the ground and covered in cuts and bruises, but what shocked Leo the most was that Mikey was small in size and looked about the age of 5 years old!

"M-Mikey…!?" Leo said softly whilst still in shock from what he was seeing right now. Raph and Donnie, meanwhile, looked at Mikey with surprised and shocked expressions on their own faces.

"What da shell…!? Why does he…?" Raph said before cutting himself off as he was too stunned to get all of his words out due to seeing Mikey in his child-like form.

"It's possible that Mikey's true inner spirit is that of a young child…hence why he has a kid-at-heart personality…" Donnie theorised.

Whilst this was going on, the young Mikey slowly uncurled himself and looked up at Leo with hurt and fear-filled eyes when he heard his name being called out to him.

"W-Weo…? W-Why you here…?" He asked timidly.

"Well...I-I…" Leo began speaking as he slowly moved closer to Mikey, but stopped when the little turtle retreated back into his curled up form in a fright.

"Hey, hey…It's ok…it's ok…I'm not going to hurt you, little brother..." Leo then said soothingly as he reached out his hand towards Mikey to try and reassure him that he wasn't going to hurt him.

Mikey's eyes peeked out from behind his arms to see for himself if Leo was telling the truth. He looked from Leo to his hand and then to Raph and Donnie where he was struck by fear again.

"T-They won't...hurt me too…?" He said shakily, causing Raph and Donnie to look at him in even more shock after hearing those words.

"No, no…nobody is going to hurt you…I promise…" Leo answered softly with a sad but warm smile.

As soon as he heard those words, Mikey felt slightly at ease and slowly reached out his own hand towards Leo's, which gently grabbed it and pulled the young turtle towards him to give him a secure but comforting hug. This resulted in Mikey crying his little heart out at the feeling of being held protectively and affectionately by his oldest brother.

"Shhh…It's alright, Mikey…I'm here…" Leo soothed as he gathered Mikey's small and battered body and rocked him gently to comfort him.

"T-The voices…I-I…I-I'm scared…t-the dark…it hurting me…" Mikey hiccupped as he sobbed against Leo's plastron.

"Voices…? What-"

_'You monster!' 'Murderer!' 'You killed him!' 'It's all your fault!' 'Screw-up!' 'Useless!' 'Leave us alone!' 'Go away!' 'You're nothing to us!'_

Leo was suddenly cut off by the raging sound of voices echoing around him and his brothers, causing them to be startled and look around to find out where they were coming from.

"What da-? Where are those voices comin' from!?" Raph said as he growled whilst looking around.

"I'm not sure, but my guess is that they're coming from the darkness itself…" Donnie theorised.

"You may be right, Donnie…and also, these voices sound a lot like…us…" Leo said sadly and guiltily when he recognised the voices, causing Raph and Donnie to look at him in shock but didn't say anything.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Mikey cried out as he tried to hide further into Leo's hold.

"Shhh…Don't worry, little brother…We'll protect you…" Leo said with determination in his voice.

"W-Weally? E-Even Waphie and Donnie?" Mikey said with uncertainty in his voice.

"Of course, Mikey…we're your big brothers and we won't let the darkness take our light away!" Leo answered confidently with Raph and Donnie nodding in agreement with his words.

"H-Huh? W-What you mean, Weo?" Mikey questioned as he looked at Leo with a confused look.

Before Leo could give Mikey his answer, his body suddenly started to fade for a few seconds before returning to normal, and he noticed that Raph and Donnie were experiencing the same thing.

"Uh, oh…I think our time here is almost up…" Leo said to himself before he looked at Mikey, who was still looking very scared and spoke to him in a calm tone. "Mikey, me and the others have to go now…"

"Wha…!? N-No, don't weave me here all alone! Pwease!" Mikey begged with tears of fear falling from his eyes as soon as he heard that he will be left alone again.

"Don't worry, Mikey…we'll be back…but until then, I need you to stay strong and be brave for me…Can you do that?" Leo replied softly as he placed a comforting hand on his baby brother's cheek.

"I-I…I don't know…I'm not…strong like you…or Waphie and Donnie…You all said so…" Mikey said as he looked away from Leo with a sad face.

Leo, Raph, and Donnie looked at Mikey with stunned looks on their faces before they realised what he was talking about; the argument that occurred days ago which resulted in cruel insults being fired at their youngest brother because their travel back to their own time went awry thanks to Viral. With this in mind, Leo let out a sigh before he spoke again.

"Listen to me, Mikey…We never meant to make you feel so down after saying those horrible words to you back then…you _are _a strong turtle and a great ninja who would always make sure that we're ok and our spirits are kept high during missions!"

"W-Weally…?" Mikey questioned with a small hint of hope in his voice.

"Yes…" Leo answered before his body and his brothers' bodies began to fade and return to normal again.

"It's time to go…" Leo said to Raph and Donnie before he looked at Mikey once more.

"Remember, Mikey; you won't be alone anymore because things will get better again…until then, stay strong…and be brave for me…See you soon, baby brother…"

Shortly after saying that, Leo, Raph, and Donnie's spiritual bodies slowly faded away into nothingness and returned to their physical bodies back in the lair, leaving a sad Mikey behind to endure the pain of being surrounded by dark walls for a little while longer.

However, what the older brothers didn't know was that a faint glowing light had begun to develop in Mikey's chest where his heart is located, meaning that there was still some hope for him yet.

/

_Meditation room…_

The three brothers opened their eyes with a gasp as they returned to their bodies in the real world. After taking a moment to calm down and come around a bit more, the silence was broken by Raph.

"Oh, man…did what we just saw with Mikey…really happen?"

"Well, it had to have happened since all three of us were there in the same place…" Donnie answered in thought.

"Now do you believe me?" Leo then said firmly with crossed arms before he watched Raph and Donnie's faces change from shock to a cross between guilt and uncertainty.

"W-Well, I guess so…" Raph shakily replied first.

"Mm…" Donnie hummed in partial agreement with Raph as he lowered his head down slightly since part of him was still begging him to carry on with the mission of saving Master Splinter.

"But what should we do about dis, Leo? Do ya really think dat Mikey would just forget everythin' dat we did ta him and come back ta us?" Raph then questioned after a moment of silence.

"The real question is, Raph; who is Mikey to us? And when was the last time we actually appreciated him for being around when he was here with us?" Leo said sadly.

"E-Erm…" "W-Well…" Raph and Donnie struggled to find the right words to answer Leo's answer, but they hardly had any time to do so because Leo spoke again.

"Look, don't you see it yet? We've been making Mikey feel like he means nothing to us as a brother or ninja, and that everything is his fault whenever things go wrong…Well, that's not going to continue anymore cos it's about time that we now took responsibility for our own actions too, instead of making one of us shoulder it all…and looking back at what we've done to Mikey, I'm really ashamed of myself for being a part of that! And if Master Splinter was here right now, he would feel the same way as I am!"

Neither Donnie or Raph could tell him their own answers to that and all three brothers went silent. A moment later, Donnie slowly got up, turned around, and started to walk away, which Leo noticed first and called out to him.

"Donnie? Where are you going?"

"To bed…" Donnie answered flatly without looking back at his brothers after he stopped walking.

"Really? Ya not wantin' ta go straight inta Cyberspace first?" Raph questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I do…! I just…want to be alone right now…to clear my mind a bit…" Donnie said firmly before he continued his walk towards his room.

Leo watched on in frustration but sadness before he looked over at Raph who was looking down with sorrow clearly showing on his face.

"Raph…you doing alright there?" Leo asked softly but carefully as he didn't want to cause Raph to have a meltdown or angry outburst after what had transpired during their trip inside the astral plane.

"Yeah…M'just tired…I might go and hit da hay myself, actually…" Raph answered flatly before getting up and making his way out of the meditation room and heading towards his own room, leaving Leo alone with his own thoughts.

"Well…I guess the only thing left to do now is to go and let April and Casey know about what we've discovered…" Leo said to himself with a sad sigh before he blew out the candles and left the meditation room himself to go and find April and Casey.

/

_The living room…_

April and Casey were sitting on the sofa whilst watching the news when they saw Donnie heading for his room before seeing Raph doing the same a moment later.

Then, they saw Leo walk out and head towards the living room with an expression that the two humans couldn't read.

"Leo? Is everything alright? You look like something big has happened…" April asked anxiously after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, man…ya lookin' a lil' pale…" Casey said in concern after seeing how drained Leo looked.

"Well, let's just say that what Mikey's emotional struggles have run much deeper than we thought…" Leo answered sadly with a sigh.

"What do you mean, Leo?" April asked nervously.

"Yeah, what did ya find out?" Casey then said curiously.

After letting out another sigh, Leo began to explain what he found during his time in the astral plane whilst meditating some time before Mikey tried to commit suicide, and then he explained about what he and his brothers discovered in the astral plane when he wanted to show them what he found there.

"Oh my…" "No way…" April and Casey were gobsmacked after they heard everything that Leo told them before April spoke again.

"So, is that why Raph and Donnie left for their rooms not long ago? Because they were overwhelmed by what they saw?"

"Yes…they're currently in a state of shock and confusion, though I'm getting the feeling that they are still slightly in denial about it all and are more focused on Master Splinter's situation…" Leo answered with furrowed eyebrows.

"Why would they carry on with dat? Mikey isn't feelin' so down fa no reason...!" Casey asked in frustration.

"I honestly don't know right now, Casey…But I will only get an answer from my brothers when I speak to them again tomorrow…" Leo answered despite the feeling of uncertainty in his heart.

"You have a point, Leo…it has gotten pretty late. You should get some rest since you had a rough day today too…" April said softly.

"Yeah, you're right, April…thanks for your help today, you two…" Leo said with a sad but warm smile.

"Hey, no problem, man…we'll come over ta Leatherhead's place tomorrow too ta see how Mikey's doin'…" Casey replied as he placed a comforting hand on Leo's shoulder.

"Yeah, so try not to worry too much right now, ok? Goodnight…" April said in a reassuring tone before she walked over to Leo and gave him a hug, which Leo returned greatly as he spoke.

"I won't, and goodnight…"

Leo then released April and watched as she and Casey left the lair completely before deciding to turn in for bed himself, so he made his way to his room and went to bed to sleep off the events that happened not long ago.


	12. Part 12-Treasured Memories

Part 12-Treasured Memories

_The next morning…_

Leo woke up with a groggy head since yesterday's events had really tired him out. He waited a few more minutes to allow his body and mind to fully wake up and then he got up and put his gear on before he left his room to start his day.

As he reached the kitchen, he noticed that Raph was sitting at the dining table eating a bowl of cereal whilst reading a newspaper. Donnie, however, was nowhere to be seen. He then saw Raph look up at him after sensing his presence and spoke in a quiet tone.

"Mornin' Leo…"

"Morning, Raph, you ok?" Leo replied with slight concern when he noticed how sad Raph looked, and judging by the dark bags under his eyes despite wearing his mask, it looked like he didn't sleep very well last night.

"Yeah, m'fine…" Raph mumbled as he turned his attention back to the newspaper.

Leo knew that Raph wasn't being honest with his answer and wanted to ask him again, but he knew that it would only cause frustration in the red-banded turtle and make him argue with him, so he changed the subject instead.

"Do you know where Donnie is?"

"I'll give ya a couple of guesses…" Raph answered gruffly without looking up from the newspaper. Leo thought for a moment before his eyes widened when it came to him.

"Seriously? He went into Cyberspace alone!? Why didn't you go with him!?" Leo said anxiously since the Cyber Shredder was still on the loose in there.

"I wanted ta go with him, but when I said dat we should have breakfast first since it was early, he got angry and told me dat I would just waste more precious time, so he went off alone without carin' if da Shredder is in there…" Raph said firmly before he turned the next page.

Leo sighed in frustration, knowing that there was nothing he could do to try and encourage Donnie to change his mind and return home since he has been known to be quite stubborn and wouldn't rest until his aims have been met.

With this in mind, Leo walked over to the kitchen and began to make his breakfast, which was a bowl of cereal since he and his brothers are unable to cook anything without destroying the kitchen, as well as brew some tea to help calm his nerves. Once he was done, Leo walked over to the table and sat down to have his breakfast, and for a moment it was silent.

"Hey, Leo?" Raph soon broke that silence despite his voice being unusually quiet.

"Yeah, Raph?" Leo responded after taking a sip of his tea.

"Do ya think Mikey will…erm…ya know…" Raph said before he stuttered and cut himself off as he began to feel uneasy.

"Will what, Raph?" Leo said to encourage his red-banded brother to finish his sentence.

"Well, what I'm tryin' ta say is…will Mikey ever be da same again? Cos I know dat Don and I…have been makin' him feel like shell lately…" Raph finished his question as he looked at Leo with an anxious but awkward look on his face.

Leo sighed as he thought about what to say to answer Raph's question because, even though Mikey would recover physically, there were concerns that his spiritual and emotional scars may never fully heal due to so much hate and distrust that had been put upon him for so long.

"I honestly don't know, Raph…after seeing what we all saw back in the astral plane yesterday, I'm worried that Mikey might never fully recover from this…" He answered as he slowly shook his head.

Raph didn't say anything to respond to that, and instead just sighed and covered his face with his hands. At this point, Leo was starting to feel really concerned about him.

"Raph, are you sure you're ok? You look exhausted…" He said as he leaned forward to look at his brother more closely.

"It's just…I can't' get what we saw in dat place outta my head, Leo…! A-And the way Mikey looked at me…He was scared of me, bro...! Did I really make him feel like dat?" Raph said before he slowly removed his hands away from his face, revealing sad and tear-filled eyes.

"It's not just you, Raph…We're all at fault for what we did to Mikey…All we can do now is to try and rebuild our trust and relationship with him…" Leo answered sadly but with encouragement when he said the last sentence.

"What da shell was I thinkin'!? There's no way dat Mikey will ever wanna speak ta me again after what I did ta him…!" Raph then said in frustration as he shook his head.

"Calm down, Raph…Getting stressed out about this will not make things better between us and Mikey…As soon as he returns home, we'll try and make it up to him, but we need to take it slow by doing it one step at a time…cos the last thing we want is for him to feel ganged up on and have a relapse in his condition…" Leo said firmly but calmly.

Raph said nothing but, instead, he sighed and nodded in understanding before he got up and headed towards his punching bag to try and release any bottled-up feelings and anger from his body and mind.

Leo watched on in sadness before he thought about what he should do before he revisits Mikey at Leatherhead's lair later on. It was then that he remembered Mikey's blood-stained bed and decided that he should get it washed and dried so that Mikey would come back home to a fresh clean bed.

With this in mind, Leo finished the rest of his breakfast and stood up from his seat to place his cutlery into the sink to be washed later, before he made his way towards Mikey's bedroom whilst grabbing a washing basket on the way there.

/

_Mikey's room..._

As soon as Leo walked into Mikey's room and turned the light on, he was again hit with the feelings of sorrow and guilt when he saw the emptiness of it; it looked like there was no life within it and the lack of loved items gave it no personality either.

He put those feelings to one side for now and walked over to Mikey's bed to begin the process of removing the blood-covered mattress sheet and blanket and placed them into the washing basket. Luckily, the blood didn't seep through and mark the mattress, which made it easier for Leo to change the bedding without any complications.

He was about to leave the room with the now filled washing basket in hand when his foot brushed against something from underneath Mikey's bed. He looked down and spotted something sticking out next to his feet, so he put the basket to one side and knelt down to see what it was.

When he reached forward, grabbed it, and took it out of its hiding place, Leo discovered it to be a book that had the words _'Family Memories'_ written on the front cover.

"Huh? Is this…some kind of photo album?" Leo said in thought before he sat down on the mattress and carefully opened the book.

When he looked at the pages within the book, his eyes widened; the first few pages contained old photos of him and his younger brothers from when they were tots and being together as a family, and the photos became more recent and new as he turned the pages.

"Shell…I thought these were lost or destroyed in our old lair…" Leo said in awe before he stopped and looked at the photos on the last filled page since the rest were all blank and yet to be filled with more future images.

He instantly recognised them as the photos that were taken 100 years into the future, because they featured the turtle brothers with Master Splinter, April and Casey's descendant Cody Jones with his robot butler Serling and best friend Starlee. There was even a photo of their graduation celebration with Leo and his younger brothers smiling and standing close together in their graduation outfits.

"Wow…these have definitely brought back memories…" Leo said as a small smile developed on his face before he saddened when he thought about why Mikey kept this a secret from him and the others.

Then again, maybe he wanted to show the album to them one day but just never had the chance to. Probably because of the way he had been treated lately, or because he was scared that he might cause an argument about not leaving the past in the past.

"Oh, bro…" Leo said sadly as he placed a hand on the album. "If only you had told us about this sooner…I can definitely tell that you've been putting our family first before yourself by keeping these memories alive…"

Just as he said that a flood of memories came and appeared in his head. Each one showed times where Mikey stood by his brothers whilst helping them during their missions despite feeling scared and wanting to run away from it all, and how hard he would try to make sure that everyone had a break from their busy routines as well as eat a good meal every day. Despite his child-like behaviour and being less serious than the others, it was his light and kid-at-heart spirit that helped in keeping his family from falling apart and making sure that they stayed positive during tough times.

This caused Leo to look down and sigh sadly since he realised that he and his brothers had completely forgotten about Mikey's true role in their family and team after the time-travelling incident. He then looked back up and spoke to himself again.

"I should go and visit Mikey to see how he's doing today and talk to him about this book, and also bring him some food since he's hardly eaten much these past few days…"

Making up his mind on what needs to be done next, Leo closed the book and took it with him in one hand as he left the room with the washing basket in his other hand. As soon as he left the room, Leo saw Serling walking past with a broom and dustpan, meaning that he was about to go and clean the floor in one of the lair's rooms.

"Hey, Serling, can you do me a favour?" Leo called out to get the robot butler's attention, which had worked, and he walked towards him.

"Certainly, Leonardo, since I have nothing better to do in this less advanced time. What do you need my assistance with?" Serling questioned flatly but politely.

"Will you please wash these for me whilst I go see Mikey at Leatherhead's lair?" Leo asked as he presented Serling with the full basket.

"Of course…I am guessing that these sheets are from young Michelangelo's bed, correct?" Serling then said curiously.

"That's right…I want to make sure that Mikey has a nice clean bed to come back to from his time at Leatherhead's place…" Leo answered with a nod.

"Very well, I will make sure that these are spotlessly clean for when Michelangelo comes back..." Serling said as he accepted the basket from Leo's hands.

"Thank you, Serling…I'll see you later…" Leo replied before both he and Serling went their separate ways.

Leo walked into the kitchen and began making some rice balls for Mikey to eat since he had not been eating properly for some time now. As he was doing this, he felt something soft and fuzzy brush against his feet and he looked down to see Klunk walking back and forth before meowing as if asking what he was up to.

"Hey there, Klunk…I'm fixing something up for Mikey since he might be feeling really hungry right now…" Leo said sadly but softly to the orange-coloured feline before an idea popped up in his head.

"Hey, I know…! You can come with me to see him…I'm sure that he'll be really happy to see you at least!" He said positively to Klunk, who replied back with a meow of excitement which caused Leo to smile even more.

After spending another few minutes making Mikey's rice balls, Leo went to get his bag and placed the food, which was wrapped up nicely in a food box, inside it and then picked up Klunk and put him in the bag in the opposite part to avoid him crushing and contaminating the box.

"Ok, then…Let's get going!" Leo said confidently before he made his way out of the lair with the photo album held in one arm whilst using his other hand to send a text message to Leatherhead to let him know that he was on his way over.

_/_

_Leatherhead's lair…_

Leo soon arrived at Leatherhead's lair and was greeted by the big reptile himself, who was on his way back to the medical room with a glass of water, which might possibly be for Mikey.

"Hello, Leonardo…" Leatherhead said with a warm smile.

"Hi, Leatherhead…How has Mikey been since we left last night?" Leo replied with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Michelangelo slept throughout the night without any reoccurring nightmares…however, he has hardly spoken a single word to me since he woke up early this morning…" Leatherhead answered sadly.

Even though Leo was relieved to hear that Mikey did not have another nightmare since he left, he became concerned when he heard that Mikey was not speaking to Leatherhead as soon as he woke up this morning. He was then snapped out of his thoughts when Leatherhead spoke again.

"There was also the matter of…removing all of the sharp items in the medical room that Michelangelo may try to use to…well…"

Leo was confused for a moment at first, but then realisation came to him; if any sharp objects were left in the medical room and Mikey saw any of them, there was a chance that he would try to harm himself again whilst Leatherhead was out of the room.

"It's ok, Leatherhead, I understand what you mean…and thank you for doing that cos you did the right thing…I too was concerned that he might try to hurt himself again, or worse at some point in the future…" Leo said in understanding with a reassuring tone.

Leatherhead nodded to that in relief before he guided Leo to the medical room to see Mikey.

/

_Medical room…_

Leatherhead and Leo entered the medical room, and Leo found that Mikey was propped up in a sitting position on the bed and was still awake despite the visible tiredness in his eyes. He was also too busy staring at his bandaged arms to notice his oldest brother and reptile friend as they approached his bed.

"Michelangelo, my friend…You have a visitor…" Leatherhead said gently before he stood aside to put the glass of water on the bedside table and allow Leo to move closer to the bed.

When Leo looked at Mikey, he saddened and looked away slightly for a moment before he took a deep breath and kept a calm demeanour as he looked back at Mikey again.

"Hey, Mikey…How are you doing?" He said gently as he approached his little brother in a slow and calm manner.

Mikey just looked at him for a second before looking down again and went back to staring at his bandaged arms without saying anything. Leo sighed quietly as he sat on the edge of the bed and lifted his bag onto his lap as he spoke.

"I've brought a little friend over to see you…!"

He lifted the flap of the bag and watched as a furry orange-coloured head popped out and looked around before stopping to see his 'daddy' and jumped out of the bag to go and greet him.

"Meow!" Klunk cried out as he looked up at his 'daddy' happily with his big green eyes.

"Klunk! Hey, buddy…!" Mikey said with a beaming look on his face as soon as he saw his little feline friend again before he leaned forward slightly to allow Klunk to nuzzle him affectionately since his arms were still too sore to move and hold him.

Leo chuckled a little as he watched them, and it was then that he saw a flash of colour sparkling back in Mikey's eyes for a second before they went back to a dull grey again, causing him to sadden a bit.

"He's been missing you since you've been away…and if it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have found out about your condition and not got to you in time back in that sewer tunnel…" He said gently as he stroked Klunk's body.

Mikey's eyes widened slightly in surprise after hearing that before he sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Seeing his distress, Klunk began to rub against his master's plastron whilst purring to comfort him whilst giving him an apologetic look.

"It's ok, Klunk…It's not your fault…" Mikey said quietly but reassuringly to his furry friend, who meowed in response to his master's words and then curled up next to him.

Leo then moved on to a different subject by taking the photo album, which Mikey had secretly put together for his family, out of hiding.

"I've also brought this…" Leo said softly as he presented the album and then watched as Mikey's eyes went wide in surprise when he saw the album. "You recognise it, don't you?"

"T-That's…H-How…?" Mikey stuttered nervously with beads of sweat falling from his head.

"I found it half sticking out from under your bed while I was removing your blood-stained bed sheet and blanket from your bed…" Leo answered before he opened the album again and looked at all the old and new photos with a warm smile.

"It's a great book, Mikey…But why didn't you tell me that you were making this? I thought that all our old photos got lost or destroyed in our old lairs after we were attacked…"

"I-I…" Mikey didn't know what to say, because he was really scared that Leo might respond to him in an angry manner, which was instantly sensed by the blue-banded turtle.

"Hey…Calm down, Mikey…I'm not mad at you. In fact, I'm really happy that I got to see these photos again because they have helped me to remember our most treasured family memories…" Leo said reassuringly as he gently placed a comforting hand on his little brother's shoulder.

Mikey was surprised when he heard that, but he was then hit with feelings of guilt for not telling Leo or his family members about the book sooner. However, there were reasons why he didn't, so he decided to explain that to Leo.

"E-Erm…I-I didn't tell you or anybody else about this before because…I was worried…that I would get yelled at…for either wasting everyone's time…or for keeping this a secret from everybody…I just couldn't bring myself to do it…so, I'm sorry…"

By the time he had finished his explanation, Mikey was shaking slightly and his eyes were filled with tears. This made Leo and Leatherhead look on in shock.

"That's not true, Mikey…! When we lost two of our old lairs after they were destroyed by our enemies a few years ago, we were devastated when we lost almost everything, including our family memories in photo form…But after seeing this, I'm eternally grateful to have them back…and it's all thanks to you, bro…!" Leo said firmly but softly before he asked him something important.

"How did you find and bring these back in one piece, anyway?"

"W-Well…Whenever I had nothing else to do or had nights where I couldn't sleep, I would go back to one or both of our old lairs to explore and see if there was anything that could've survived the destruction…and that was when I found the pictures scattered in different places after our old album got destroyed…I could only bring back a few at a time during each visit as I didn't want to be away from our current lair for too long, especially on nights when I couldn't stay up too late due to training…I then secretly asked April if she could find me a blank scrapbook or photo album for me to help keep them safe and in the right order..." Mikey explained whilst looking away due to feeling nervous still.

"Wow…so, you went to those lairs alone despite the risk of injuring yourself or worse? Even though what you did was reckless in my opinion, I am impressed by your bravery in doing that, little brother…" Leo said before giving Mikey's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Mikey didn't respond and instead just nodded with a hum, which concerned both Leo and Leatherhead because Mikey would normally beam with a happy smile when given such praise but, this time, it was like the lights were switched on but he was not really there.

"What's on your mind right now, hmm? You can tell me anything, bro…it's just you, me, and Leatherhead in here…oh, and Klunk too…" Leo said after a moment of silence with a small chuckle at the last sentence.

Mikey looked at his brother and then at Klunk and Leatherhead before he looked at some of the photos in the photo album again and sighed with tears developing in his eyes again. A moment later, he started to speak.

"I miss Splinter so much…I want to see him again…Even if he says he hates me or doesn't want anything to do with me as soon as he comes back, I'll still love and care about him…! I want to be…by his side and hold his hand…when that day comes in the future where he draws his last breath…I don't care if any of you don't want me there when that happens…I just want him to know that…I've at least done _something _right for him!"

"Mikey…" Leo said as he reached out and held Mikey's hand with his own before he heard his brother speak again.

"We were all so close, you know…we used to do so much together…as a family, as well as a team…but my actions and who I am to you all…have completely destroyed all that…and now…Donnie really hates me, and Raph looks like he wants to kill me every time he sees me...I didn't mean to hurt you guys…I just wanted to help you more that day…but it's like they say, 'Once a screw-up, always a screw-up'!"

"Michelangelo…" Leatherhead said sadly as he wiped away a single tear that was about to fall from one of his own eyes.

"T-That's why…I tried to kill myself yesterday…I wanted to end my cursed life…b-because…I…" Mikey continued before he stopped and looked down in shame.

"Because you what, Mikey?" Leo said gently to encourage his little brother to carry on whilst he stroked his little brother's hand with his thumb.

"B-Because…I don't want anyone else to pay the price in my name every time I mess something up! I thought that if I ended my life, no-one would have to suffer anymore! T-That way…everyone would finally be happy…a-and at peace…" Mikey finished sadly before he completely broke down.

Leo and Leatherhead both looked at Mikey with shock and horror planted on their faces. They could not believe their ears when Mikey called his own life and existence a 'curse' and that he wanted to end his own life in order to 'free' his family and friends from it.

Again, Leo was suddenly hit with guilt and sorrow for the young turtle; ever since the harsh scolding after returning home from the future, Mikey had hardly interacted with any of his brothers and would try to avoid them to prevent more fights from breaking out. Because of this, however, he became more isolated and began to punish himself in the harshest way possible, which was through self-mutilation, before he got to a stage where he attempted to end his life altogether because nobody believed that he would ever be of use to the family and team full stop.

"Hey, hey, come here…" Leo said as he gathered Mikey into a firm and gentle hug.

Leo held onto his baby brother as he cried his heart out; he knew that Mikey really needed this because he was left without any reassurance to say that everything would be ok despite the challenges that they were facing, and also because his own brothers had hardly spoken to him or comforted him since the incident days ago due to their emotional grudges towards him, even though it was all Viral's fault from the start.

"My little brother…I'm so sorry…I really am…The things that you're saying about yourself are not true…you're not cursed and you have never brought us to harm because you don't have a single bad bone in your body…" Leo said in a sincere tone after a moment of silence.

"D-Don't be…I-I…I'm just so tired…I've had enough…I don't wanna do this anymore…It hurts so much…" Mikey said in a heartbroken tone as he sobbed with his face buried into Leo's shoulder.

"Shhh…I know, Mikey…I know…" Leo soothed whilst rubbing his baby brother's head as he did everything he could to try and calm him down.

Sometime later, Leo only heard the sounds of sniffles and hiccups coming from Mikey, meaning that he was starting to calm down, so he slowly loosened the hug to look at Mikey's now wet and sniffling face before he spoke again.

"Listen, Mikey; If I had the ability to travel back in time to stop Viral from causing Master Splinter to be lost and scattered in Cyberspace as well as cause a rift between you and us, I would do so in a heartbeat…but I can't...The only thing that we can do right now is to focus on what needs to be done in the present in order to create a better future for all of us, including you…"

"B-But, Leo…n-no matter what I do…o-or how hard I try…I-I can't fix my screw-ups…n-nobody wants me to…cos I'm just a mutated _defect_ to them!" Mikey said in denial.

"No, you're not, Michelangelo…!" Leo immediately said in a firm tone, causing Mikey to look up at him with wide eyes after hearing his brother say his full name before he heard him speak again.

"You are an amazing and kind-hearted turtle who would do everything in his power to help his family and friends in times of need…so don't you _ever_ call yourself a defect because you're not; you're a unique being, just like everyone else…and we love you for that!"

"W-What makes you say that?" Mikey questioned in denial still.

"Mikey, I have realised now that the only one who made sure that our family stayed together and brought positivity into our home with his heart of light…was you all along…!" Leo answered as he looked at him with truthful eyes.

"W-Wha…?" Mikey said in confusion before he watched Leo as he opened the album again and pointed at an old photo as he spoke.

"Here, look…This was an after-shot taken a few years ago when we first discovered that underground city…You saved us from becoming its permanent residents, remember?"

"B-But that was when…I-I wanted to run away at that time cos…I was really scared of what was down there…" Mikey replied in denial after he remembered when he tried many times to either run away or keep his fears from losing control whilst exploring the underground city.

"And you didn't…you continued on and didn't give up on finding us, no matter the dangers that were present in that place…" Leo countered back after he shook his head before he turned the pages and stopped to point at another photo as he spoke again.

"This one was taken after we recovered and brought Leatherhead back to our home after our first encounter with Agent Bishop…You had to tell Master Splinter, April, and Casey the whole story about how you met him since they didn't know who he was at first…"

"And I must say that it was the best day of my life to be saved and given a new life by my new friends and family, and it all wouldn't have been possible if you had not met me in the first place, Michelangelo…" Leatherhead said with glistening tears in his eyes as he thought back to those days before he heard Leo speak again.

"And this picture here was taken on Christmas Day at the orphanage…Do you see all those children smiling? It was all thanks to you for encouraging us to make it the best Christmas ever for them by giving them so much happiness and joy after you made us all realise what Christmas was really all about on that night…"

Mikey's eyes widened as he remembered that Christmas night; the scenes of smiling children having fun and enjoying the festivities whilst Mikey and his friends and family dressed up as Christmas characters in order to look the part whilst hiding their true identities. He then looked back at a sleeping Klunk after remembering that it was also the day when he first met him as a kitten and took him in to become a part of his family. Leo chuckled a little as he watched this unfold and remembered that memory himself.

"That's right; it was also the day when Klunk came into the family…" He said as he reached over to gently stroke Klunk with his hand before he looked back at the album and turned the pages again until he stopped at the photos that were taken during their time in the future, which was over 100 years from now.

"Now, _this_ is one of our best photos that was taken during our time in the future…I have to say that we looked good in those robes, don't you think…?" He said with a pleased smile as he pointed at the photo that featured him and his brothers in their graduation gowns, meaning that it was their graduation picture.

Mikey slowly looked at the picture before he frowned after finding out which one it was, which Leo noticed immediately.

"What's wrong, Mikey?" He asked in concern.

"I-It's just…I don't understand why you guys didn't just give up on me and move on in becoming ninjas of Chunin without me…cos I was too stupid to realise what all that training I missed was really about until it was almost too late…" Mikey answered sadly without looking at his brother.

"Hey…We didn't give up on you because not only were you our brother, but you also have hidden potential that is still locked up inside you, still waiting to be released…and it would be unfair for you not to be allowed to move up a level in order to show everyone that potential..." Leo countered back as he wrapped an arm around Mikey's shoulders and gave him a gentle side-ways hug. Then, after a moment of silence;

_Gurgle! Rumble, Rumble!_

The sounds of an empty stomach were suddenly heard, startling Klunk awake and causing Leo and Leatherhead to pause for a moment before they looked at a now blushing Mikey and realised that it was his stomach that was making those noises.

"Ha, ha…sounds like someone is ready for something to eat…" Leo said with an amused smile before he reached into his bag to grab and take out the box of rice balls and opened them. "Here, I made you these…You must be starving…"

Mikey was surprised after he looked at the box of rice balls, which were still warm due to the small waves of steam coming off of them, but he then saddened again and sighed as he looked away from them slightly. In his mind, he felt that the last thing he wanted to do right now was to make his family waste their food on someone like him.

"Come on, Mikey…I know that you haven't been eating well lately, so don't try to hide your hunger from me…! Besides, I don't want you getting sick from lack of nutrition…!" Leo said firmly but caringly before he placed the food box onto Mikey's lap.

Knowing that there was no other choice, Mikey sighed before he slowly and achingly lifted one of his arms and reached for one of the rice balls with his hand. He then held it for a moment to allow the gentle warmth to be absorbed into his skin before he lifted it towards his mouth and took a small bite out of it.

Even though it tasted slightly bland due to the lack of seasoning, Mikey did like the lightness and fluffiness of the rice as he chewed it before he took another bite that was slightly bigger this time. As he was halfway from finishing his first rice ball, the tears developed and fell from his eyes again; the emotions of being given food from his oldest brother after so long combined with the kindness of those around him had taken over him, and it wasn't until he finished the whole rice ball that he broke down again.

Leo wrapped his arm around Mikey's shoulders again and gave him another sideways hug. He could tell that Mikey was really hurting both physically and emotionally right now, and he needed to support him like a proper big brother.

"Have some more, bro…You'll be alright…" He said soothingly as he lightly tapped on the box.

Mikey did what Leo told him to do and took out another rice ball for him to slowly eat it all before he did the same with the last two, whilst also taking a sip from the glass of water Leatherhead gave him each time he had one.

After finishing his food, he hung his head low and covered his tear-filled eyes with his hands as he broke down once more, still finding it hard to believe that someone would be so kind to him after everything that had happened these past few days.

"Let it all out, Mikey…We're here for you…" Leo said softly as he rubbed Mikey's arm and leaned his head against Mikey's in comfort, whilst Klunk did his best in comforting his master by purring and affectionately rubbing himself against his plastron.

Leatherhead watched this go on whilst checking Mikey's vitals and blood pressure on the monitors for any changes, which to his relief were starting to improve instead of getting worse. He then got closer to the bed as soon as Mikey was starting to calm down to tell him and Leo the good news.

"Michelangelo's blood pressure and vitals have now stabilised since the blood transfusion last night…The next thing that I need to do now is to check on his wounds to see if the stitches are all holding and helping with the healing process…"

Leo silently breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that Mikey had stabilised physically since his near-death experience last night, but he knew that his baby brother was not out of the woods yet as he still had a long recovery to go through in terms of his emotional wounds.

Mikey, on the other hand, looked at Leatherhead in surprise for a moment after hearing his report before he lowered his head with a small and shaky sigh; he was having mixed feelings about what his big reptile friend just said and the idea of removing his bandages to allow everyone in the room to see the damage that he had done to himself scared him. Both Leo and Leatherhead sensed this uneasiness from Mikey straight away.

"Mikey…it's ok…we're just making sure that your arms are healing properly…neither of us are mad at you for what you did to yourself if that's what you're thinking right now…" Leo said in a reassuring tone.

"B-But you should be! I just made things more complicated for everyone by wasting their time and equipment on me cos I'm a stupid nobody!" Mikey spat out firmly before gritting his teeth whilst trying to prevent more tears from falling.

Leo was about to say something to counter Mikey's words, but Leatherhead had beaten him to it as he knelt to his level and placed a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder before he spoke.

"My friend…even though we are saddened after finding out that you chose the option of self-harming in order to punish yourself for what had happened to you and your family a few days ago, we are not angry at you for it…because you felt that there were no other options for you to release your inner feelings due to not having anyone around who would be there to guide you on the right path of healing from your traumatic experience…"

"I-I don't fully blame them for what they did to me, though…Cos none of this would have happened if I'd have just let you guys figure out a way to escape Viral's wrath instead of me trying to be all big and mighty…!" Mikey said whilst slowly shaking his head.

"But that still doesn't make it acceptable for them to keep saying terrible things about you, Mikey…I too am to blame for what happened to you since I was also involved in the harsh scolding we gave you back then…and for that, I'm really sorry for everything that I said and did to you, little brother…" Leo countered firmly but softly before his expression saddened when he apologised for his part in Mikey's treatment days ago.

"You already apologised to me earlier, Leo…and I've accepted it…so, don't worry about it, ok…?" Mikey said whilst wearing a small but noticeable smile on his face, which surprised Leo greatly before he smiled in return and then gave his baby brother another hug whilst saying, "thanks, little brother…", in the process.

"Now then, shall we proceed with the assessment of your arms, Michelangelo?" Leatherhead asked his youngest turtle friend with a warm smile.

Despite feeling nervous about what he and the others might see once the bandages are off, Mikey gave Leatherhead the go-ahead with a nod whilst keeping his arms straight and flat on the bed. Just as Leatherhead was about to untie the bandage knots, however;

_"Hello? Leatherhead, are ya home?" "It's us!"_

The sounds of familiar voices echoed from outside of the medical room, which the mutant trio instantly recognised as April and Casey's.

"I am in here, my friends!" Leatherhead called back to let them know of his presence. Shortly after that, the human duo made their appearance as they approached the doorway towards the medical room with smiles on their faces once they saw that Mikey was awake again.

"Mikey, good morning!" April said happily as she rushed towards the bed and gave Mikey a hug, which the young turtle returned despite the soreness in his arms.

"Heya, Mike…good ta see ya up again, bud…!" Casey then said with a smile of his own as he walked over to the bed to place a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"Thanks…" Mikey replied quietly with a sad smile, surprising the human couple in the process.

"It's good to see you again, you two…and you have come just in time as we're about to check on Mikey's arms…" Leo then said before he announced what he and Leatherhead were about to do, causing Mikey to feel nervous again.

"D-Do they really…wanna watch this…?" He questioned shakily.

"It's alright, Mikey…we already saw and know about everything so we'll be fine…Besides, I'd like to see how your arms are doing myself, anyway…" April reassured Mikey as she held his hand and gently squeezed it, whilst Casey just agreed with a nod towards Mikey.

This made Mikey feel a bit more at ease and once he was ready, Leo moved Klunk out of the way by lifting him off the bed and holding onto him as Leatherhead resumed with the process of untying the bandage knots. He then slowly unwrapped Mikey's arms and, sure enough, everyone began to see the many wounds before the bandages were fully removed. It was at that point that Mikey closed his eyes to avoid seeing any more of his self-afflictions.

Nobody said anything to him for now since they felt that Mikey needed more time to let everything sink in, so April and Leatherhead started their assessment on the condition of each stitched-up wound on both of Mikey's arms. After 5 minutes had passed, Leatherhead smiled warmly and spoke to break the silence.

"The stitches are holding nicely and the wounds are healing as well as I expected…If this continues, Michelangelo will soon be well enough to leave this bed and return home…"

Everyone smiled and breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that, but Mikey remained quiet and he had developed a scared expression on his face.

"Mikey? What's the matter?" April questioned in concern for her youngest turtle friend.

"Yeah, didn't ya hear what Leatherhead just said? Ya gettin' better, dat's a good thing ta smile about! Ya should be happy, man…!" Casey said to try and get Mikey to smile, but it wasn't working.

"That's not it, Casey…He's feeling like this because he's scared about going back home to our own lair once his arms are healed…" Leo corrected his human friend after sensing Mikey's fears before he looked back at his brother, who opened his eyes slightly but was still trying to not look at his arms as he quietly spoke.

"I-I…I don't think that I'll be welcomed there with open arms anymore…not after everything that's happened…"

"Hey, that's not true, little brother…! I would definitely welcome you back home with open arms because I've been missing you since the incident…especially your cooking…!" Leo immediately said before he chuckled slightly at the last part.

"Wha…?" Mikey said as he looked at Leo with wide eyes.

"I mean, we've only been eating cereals for breakfast and sandwiches for both lunch and dinner since none of us know how to cook a proper decent meal without wrecking up the kitchen…!" Leo explained bashfully, causing April and Casey to laugh and snicker due to how funny he sounded.

"Yeah, and there were times in the past where we had to bring emergency take-out foods to the lair because your brothers ruined the whole kitchen whilst trying to fix up their meals when you were unable to because of illness or injury…" April then said as she tried but failed to stop laughing.

It was then that Leo, Leatherhead, and the human duo suddenly heard small but clear laughter that none of them heard for what felt like a long time, and it was coming from Mikey who, to their surprise, was also smiling a little.

"T-That's…Oh, Mikey, it's been a while since I last heard you laugh…" Leo said with tears of joy developing in his eyes as he wrapped his baby brother in another hug, which Mikey accepted by nuzzling his beak against Leo's shoulder despite being surprised after receiving another hug.

"I guess it just goes to show that some past memories are seen as those we treasure the most…and never forget…" April said with a warm smile as she wiped the tears of happiness from her eyes.

"Indeed…" Leatherhead said with a nod whilst Casey hummed and also nodded in agreement as he gave April a comforting side-ways hug.

A moment later, Leo released Mikey from the brotherly hug and wiped the tears from his little brother's face with his thumb before he spoke.

"Mikey, listen…Don't worry about how Raph and Donnie will react to the news of you coming back home…because what happened between you and us will be resolved, and it will be done slowly with one baby step at a time…"

"Yeah, and we'll be there to help you too whenever you need us, ok?" April then said softly as she again held Mikey's hand in her own and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Mikey looked at his brother and friends in shock and awe after hearing those words, and then he looked down slightly in thought and sighed before he looked back up at them with a face that showed that he had made up his mind.

"Okay…So, where do I start?" He said with a nod, much to the surprise and relief of Leo, Leatherhead, April, and Casey when they heard that Mikey had accepted their help.

"You will start with your recovery first, my friend…" Leatherhead answered as he grabbed some new bandages to wrap Mikey's arms again to protect the stitches and healing wounds. "Once you are healed, you and Leonardo can discuss more on preparing you for your return back home to your lair…Do you understand?"

"Yeah…Thanks, Leatherhead…for everything…" Mikey said with a nod in understanding and a smile towards his big reptile friend before he laid his head back down on the pillow and let out a yawn, which didn't go unnoticed by Leo and the others.

"I think you're due for a nap, Mikey…" Leo said softly as he brought the blanket up to Mikey's shoulders and tucked him in.

"Yes, sleep is known to be the best medicine for healing wounds…" Leatherhead said in agreement with Leo's words.

"Well, we have to get going now, anyways…so, we'll leave you to get some rest, Mikey…" April said before she gave him a kiss on his forehead.

"Yeah, see ya next time, bud!" Casey then said with a thumbs-up.

"I should be heading home too…I need to check on how Raph and Donnie are doing, and give Klunk his dinner…I'll see you later, little brother…" Leo said as he held Klunk in one arm and used his other hand to give Mikey's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"M'kay…later, guys…" Mikey replied sleepily before he closed his eyes and fell asleep instantly. Leo smiled at his sleeping brother before he looked up at Leatherhead as he spoke.

"I will come back and see him later tonight and tomorrow morning, Leatherhead…but until then, keep up the good work with looking after him for me…"

"I will...and thank you, Leonardo..." Leatherhead said with a warm smile.

Leo nodded to those words, and when he looked at the photo album he decided to leave it with Mikey for now until he was ready to go back home, and then he said goodbye to Leatherhead before he, April, and Casey left the medical room to head home for today.


	13. Part 13-Calming the Raging Bull

Part 13-Calming the Raging Bull

_Leatherhead's lair…_

A full week soon went by and Mikey's physical recovery was in the final phase of completion.

After Leatherhead gave Mikey's arms one more check-over, he officially gave the young turtle the go-ahead to finally leave his hospital bed and return home to finish the rest of his physical healing, with a reminder that he would need to come back to have another check-up and have his stitches removed after another week.

Although he was scared and nervous at first, Mikey was reassured by Leo that nothing would happen to him and that he would make sure that Raph and Donnie wouldn't try anything that might make things more complicated for his mental wellbeing during his healing process.

When Leo came back to Leatherhead's lair in the afternoon to pick Mikey up, he was accompanied by April and Casey, who had brought him a little get well soon present; a brand new jacket that was made for his body build and it was orange and black in colour.

"Wow…thank you…" Mikey said with gratitude before he tried on the jacket, which to everyone's relief was a perfect fit despite the slight weight loss that Mikey had due to the lack of eating properly.

"Hey, it looks good on you, Mikey…!" Leo complimented as he looked at Mikey with his new jacket on, causing the young turtle to blush.

"Yeah, and it should keep you nice and warm for a while since you're still trying to maintain your body heat after your blood loss and transfusion combined…" April explained after agreeing with Leo on how the jacket suited Mikey.

"Don't remind me about that, please…" Mikey said in a quiet tone as he looked down with a sad look on his face when he remembered that day back when he was close to death due to blood loss and needed Raph's blood to save him.

"Oh, right…I'm sorry, Mikey…I didn't mean to-" April tried to apologise and explain herself, but she was cut off by Mikey who had regret and guilt showing on his face.

"No, it's ok, April…you're just looking out for me, and I appreciate that…"

"You bet we are…! We're yer pals, man…and we look out fa each other!" Casey said with determination as he placed a fist over his chest.

Mikey nodded to those words before he looked over at Leatherhead and spoke.

"Leatherhead, thank you…for your help in saving my life…even when I was giving up on myself, you and the others never gave up on me…"

"It is what friends are for, Michelangelo…Besides, I cannot imagine living my life without you as my friend…and I strongly believe that your family and friends feel the same way as well…" Leatherhead replied warmly.

This caused a speechless Mikey to start tearing up before he quickly walked over to Leatherhead to give him a grateful hug, which the big reptile happily returned, with Leo and the human couple watching on with warm smiles and tears developing in their eyes.

After a moment went by, Leo walked over to the duo as they released themselves from the hug before he placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder and spoke.

"Ok, Mikey…It's time to go home…are you ready?"

Mikey only answered with a nod to confirm that he was ready to go before he and Leo thanked Leatherhead again for his help and then said goodbye to him as they, April, and Casey took their leave from Leatherhead's lair and headed for home.

/

_30 minutes later…_

The group took their time with their walk back towards the turtles' lair, because as they were halfway there, Mikey's body began to start shaking and his breathing was faster due to the anxiety and fear from the possibility of being rejected or ganged up on by his other brothers building up inside him.

This resulted in Leo, April, and Casey stopping and giving Mikey words of comfort before instructing him to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down. After a short while, Mikey returned to his senses and he and the others resumed in their walk towards the lair.

/

_The turtles' lair…_

Once everyone arrived at the lair, they noticed that it was quiet and couldn't see or hear any signs of either Raph or Donnie, meaning that they might have gone into Cyberspace again. This gave Leo, April, and Casey the chance to take Mikey back to his room without any problems.

However, just as they were almost at Mikey's bedroom door;

_BBBZZZZ! ZING! ZAP!_

The sound of a cyber portal being opened was suddenly heard echoing through the lair, causing Mikey to freeze with wide eyes because he and the others knew what that noise meant; Raph and Donnie were returning home from Cyberspace!

"April, Casey, take Mikey to his room! I'll go talk to Raph and Donnie!" Leo said quickly to prevent Raph and Donnie from seeing Mikey with them. The human couple understood his instructions and started guiding a nervous Mikey towards his room before they closed the door but left it slightly ajar so that they could listen in to what the older turtle brothers might say to each other.

With his little brother safe and out of sight, Leo made his way towards the computer area where he soon saw Raph and Donnie walking off the platform after coming out of the now disappeared cyber portal, and it was then that Leo noticed how unhappy both Raph and Donnie looked.

"Hey, guys…Is everything ok?" Leo asked them calmly and carefully.

"No! Everything's not ok, Leo! The Cyber Shredder tricked us into thinking that a large cluster of Master Splinter's data-bits was nearby, but it turned out to be an ambush by his digital Foot soldiers!" Donnie answered furiously.

"Hold on a second, Donnie! Da only one dat fell fa his trick was _you_! I tried ta tell ya dat somethin' wasn't right but ya just shot straight inta his trap!" Raph firmly corrected his immediate younger brother, surprising Leo, as well as Mikey, April, and Casey when they heard this.

"Wait, what!? You were attacked!? Are you hurt!?" Leo said in a panic after hearing that his brothers were ambushed.

"We're fine, Fearless…We managed ta beat them all and escape without gettin' hurt…" Raph said flatly but reassuringly.

"But we still came back empty-handed! The sole reason for going into Cyberspace was to gather and retrieve all of Master Splinter's data-bits and bring him back home safe and alive! I'm going back in there…" Donnie then said firmly and loudly before he turned around and was about to activate another cyber portal, but Raph immediately grabbed Donnie's shoulder and firmly turned him back around and spoke to him with anger showing on his face.

"Ya see!? Dis is what I've been tryin' ta get through ta ya, Donnie; You became so obsessed with da mission dat we've been doin' dis non-stop every day, and I mean, every. Single. DAY! And it's now gotten ta a point where I have ta pick up da pieces fa ya every time ya let ya guard down whilst inside Cyberspace!"

"This isn't about what happens to _us_, Raph…! This is about _Master Splinter _and getting him back before it's too late!" Donnie countered back firmly.

"So, what are ya sayin'? Ya don't care if any of us get hurt or worse as long as Master Splinter comes back alive!?" Raph questioned in shock.

"I'm saying that we have to do what's necessary to save our father, even if it means putting our own lives at risk in order to complete it!" Donnie answered calmly with no emotions shown in his face as he said that.

This shocked both Raph and Leo when they heard those words coming from their own younger brother, and they weren't the only ones feeling the same way because Mikey, April, and Casey each had faces full of shock when they overheard what Donnie said just then before they snapped out of it when they heard Leo speak.

"Donnie, do you honestly think that Master Splinter would allow you to do this to save his life? What would he say to you if he was here right now?"

"Don't you _dare _bring our father into this again, Leo! You're just saying that to make me stop and think about what I'm doing…well, guess what? It's not going to work on me!" Donnie angrily said as he jabbed Leo's chest with his finger before he continued speaking.

"Besides, shouldn't you be more focused on how you're going to get Mikey to change his ways and be on the same level as us for everyone's sake?"

"That is _not_ what I'm doing with our brother, Donnie! Mikey is fine as he is before the incident happened and he doesn't need to change, especially for our selfish wishes for him to do so!" Leo answered firmly.

"Hold on, where is he, anyway? Weren't ya gonna go and pick him up from Leatherhead's place, Leo?" Raph questioned suddenly when he noticed that Mikey wasn't with Leo when he came back home.

"I already did; right now, he's in his room resting…" Leo answered with a sigh.

"Why didn't ya tell us dat in da first place!?" Raph questioned when he realised that he wasn't informed of Mikey's return sooner.

"You know why, Raph; the last time you and Donnie saw and spoke to Mikey was when you ganged up on him and told him how much of a screw-up he is and that you didn't want him anywhere near you, and that no-one would care about what happens to him if he was gone…When he was getting closer to the lair during our return home from Leatherhead's place, he had a panic attack due to his fears of being verbally attacked or rejected by the pair of you, so I had him sent to his room with April and Casey watching over him as soon as we got back to avoid another fight from happening between you two and him…" Leo explained in frustration due to having to remind his brother again on why Mikey's status was being kept from him and Donnie once more.

"I still don't think that there was any point in bringing him back here, Leo…He's already caused enough trouble and grief both before and after his attempt to kill himself…" Donnie said dismissively with a sigh, shocking Leo and Raph in the process.

"What da Shell is wrong with ya, Donnie!? Ya saw him back in dat astral place…! He was a complete wreck! Don't ya realise dat we made him like dat!?" Raph said heatedly as he slowly got closer to Donnie's face.

"Oh, so you're sticking up for Mikey now? Well, I'm sorry, Raph, but seeing him as a child in the astral plane just proved my point; he's nothing but a little kid who refuses to grow up and take some responsibility for his own actions, especially when he's the one who caused Master Splinter to sacrifice himself once again in order to save us!" Donnie countered back in the same tone.

By the time Donnie had finished speaking, Raph was starting to see red as his rage began to grow fiercer to a stage where his eyes were becoming clouded by a red mist.

"Raph? Are you-"

BAM!

Leo was cut off when Raph suddenly punched Donnie in the face, stunning him, before he turned to the blue-banded turtle and charged towards him like a raging bull.

"Whoa!" Leo said as he dodged Raph's attack and moved away from the computer area to prevent the equipment from getting damaged.

"Raph, calm down!" He then said to try and snap his immediate younger brother out of his berserk mode, but it wasn't working and was instead met with another charge attack and he was instantly tackled to the floor before he covered his face with his arms as Raph started punching him in the face.

Meanwhile, Mikey, April, and Casey had seen and heard the whole thing, and now all three of them were becoming terrified and worried for Leo, who the youngest turtle thought was the only one who cared about how he felt and understood his reasons for his depressive state.

With this in mind, Mikey suddenly began to feel the determination needed to protect his brother and stop Raph's anger-infused rampage.

"I-I…I have to do something!" Mikey said before he quickly left the safety of his room.

"Mikey, wait!" April called out to the young turtle but he was already too far away from the bedroom to hear her before she heard Mikey yell at his red-banded brother, who was about to land another punch on Leo.

"Leave him alone!"

Raph stopped his fist halfway as soon as he heard a familiar voice telling him to stop hitting Leo before he turned his head just in time to see a terrified but determined Mikey charge at him and then tackle him off of Leo, who groaned from the pain in his face.

Despite stopping him, however, Raph's anger was still keeping a strong grip on him so, instead of snapping out of it, he slowly stood up and looked at Mikey with murderous eyes.

"_You_…_You _did dis ta us! Rrrroooaaarrr!" He said furiously before he charged towards his youngest brother.

At the sight of his charging angry brother, Mikey immediately became so scared that he didn't react or move from where he was standing to get away from him, but he didn't have the time to do so anyways because Raph quickly tackled him hard and pinned him down firmly on the ground, causing the youngest turtle to become dazed from the impact.

"Mikey!" Leo cried out after getting up and seeing his baby brother being attacked and pinned down by Raph, but what shocked him more was that Raph had taken out one of his Sais from his belt and raised it above Mikey's head, preparing to strike the final blow on him with it!

He wasn't the only one to notice it as April and Casey was standing nearby and watching everything take place with horrified faces.

"Raph, don't! This isn't you!" April shouted out desperately.

"Stop it, man…! Come on, stop!" Casey shouted out afterward to try and snap his best friend out of his rage.

When Mikey looked up with wide eyes at his red-banded brother and saw the Sai being aimed above his head, he suddenly had a case of déjà vu; this reminded him of the day when Raph was about to bash his head with a metal pipe whilst in a fit of rage.

"Say goodbye…cos no-one's gonna miss ya…" Raph said in a seething tone before he raised his arm with the Sai in hand a bit more, signalling to Mikey that he was about to land the fatal blow onto him.

At this point, Mikey was preparing to accept his fate this time, but he wanted to say something to Raph first before he could end his life.

"R-Raph-ie…"

Raph paused after hearing his old nickname, and then the red mist in his eyes slightly cleared enough for him to see his youngest brother pinned down and looking straight at him with sad and tear-filled eyes.

"Wha…What did ya just call me…?" He questioned in surprise.

"R-Raphie…If you wanna end my life…I'm not stopping you…" Mikey answered in a heartbroken tone before he slowly reached and grabbed Raph's hand with his Sai in it and guided it towards the middle of his throat.

A whole 30 seconds went by, and Raph wasn't moving his hand and Mikey became confused as to why he didn't finish him off after he gave him his consent to do so.

"W-Well? What are you waiting for…? Go ahead…just, do it!" Mikey begged as his tears fell down his face, shocking everyone nearby as they watched the scene in horror before they heard him say something that was even more horrifying.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it!?"

It was that last sentence that made Raph come to his senses. Once the red mist had completely faded away from his eyes, he looked at the scared and heartbroken look on his baby brother's face before he looked at the Sai in his hand. A moment later, his eyes widened as reality kicked him hard in the teeth; he had let his anger rage out of control once again and, in the process, attacked Donnie and Leo before threatening to put an end to Mikey's life with his own weapon.

"N-No…W-What am I…" He stuttered as he loosened his grip on his Sai, causing it to fall to one side before he was carefully forced off of his brother by Casey who spoke to him in a firm tone.

"Why'd ya do dat, man!?"

"Are you ok, Mikey?" April asked softly to Mikey, who had curled himself up shortly after being released from Raph's grip, as she hurried over to the poor turtle and comforted him before she looked up at Raph with a stern look and spoke again.

"What on Earth were you thinking, Raph!?"

"I-I didn't…M-Mikey…I-I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me…I-I…" Raph said shakily as he tried to explain himself whilst reaching out to his youngest brother, but Mikey just shifted away from his reach whilst avoiding eye contact with him, causing the red-banded turtle to sadden even more.

"Raph, go and cool off somewhere for a bit…" Leo said firmly whilst rubbing his sore face as he walked towards the group.

"B-But-"

"Just go, Raph…We'll talk about this later…" Leo immediately said to cut off his immediate younger brother before he turned away to look at Mikey.

Knowing that there was nothing he could do right now, Raph looked at Mikey again before he turned around, ran towards the lair's entrance, and left the lair altogether.

"Casey, please go and keep an eye on him for me…" Leo asked Casey who nodded and followed Raph to make sure that he wouldn't get himself into trouble. After watching him leave, Leo turned back to Mikey.

"Mikey-"

"I wanna go back to my room…please…" Leo was immediately cut off by Mikey who was still shaking slightly and his head was lowered to hide his tearful face from those still around him.

Leo sighed as he looked at Mikey with a sad face; he had tried but failed to protect his youngest brother from getting caught in the middle of another fight with his brothers by making him come out of hiding in order to save his shell after letting his own guard down.

"April, take Mikey to his room and make sure that he's ok…I'll be with you in a minute…" Leo calmly instructed April who nodded in understanding and gently helped Mikey stand up before she guided him back to his room and closed the door shut.

With Mikey safely back in his room again, Leo went over to Donnie to check if he was ok after being punched by Raph not long ago. When he got to the computer area, he was surprised and relieved to see that Donnie was standing up whilst rubbing his sore cheek.

"Donnie, are you ok?" Leo asked in concern since he hardly heard Donnie speak after being punched in the face.

"I'm fine, Leo…I just need some time alone…" Donnie answered flatly whilst rubbing his face, which was throbbing with pain.

"Don…"

"Leo, please! Just, leave me alone…" Donnie abruptly said as he looked away from Leo with an annoyed sigh before he turned his back to him and made his way towards his bedroom to be alone.

Even though Leo wanted to encourage Donnie to open up to him on how he was really feeling, he knew that right now wasn't the best time since his purple-banded brother needed some more time to recollect himself after Raph's rampage.

With this in mind, Leo decided to respect Donnie's wishes and leave him be for now before making his way towards Mikey's room to check on his youngest brother.

/

_Mikey's room…_

Leo soon reached the door leading to Mikey's room, but as he was about to open it he heard the sound of vomiting from the other side.

With worry beginning to build up inside him, Leo swiftly opened the door to see Mikey throwing up in a small bin on his lap, and April was sat next to him and rubbing his shell-covered back to help support him through it.

"Mikey! Are you ok!?" Leo said in a panic as he approached his baby brother who couldn't respond to him because he was still throwing up, so Leo turned to April and spoke to her instead.

"What happened!? I wasn't gone long...!"

"I think the shock from Raph's rampage overwhelmed him…This happened just seconds after I sat him down on his bed…" April answered sadly.

"Cough, cough!" Mikey eventually stopped throwing up and coughed out any leftover vomit from his mouth before he slowly lifted his head whilst panting to catch his breath.

"Are you alright, Mikey?" April asked the young turtle, who nodded a little to say that he was ok, before she gave him a tissue to wipe his mouth of any dribbles of vomit that were still visible.

"Mikey, I'm so sorry…I tried to protect you from being caught in the middle of our quarrel, but I let my guard down and caused you to put yourself in danger because of it…" Leo said in an apologetic tone as he placed a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder whilst looking at him with a miserable look on his face.

"N-No, don't be…I-It's _my_ fault…R-Raph was right…I-I did this to you all…" Mikey replied before he covered his face with his hands and started crying, with Leo and April witnessing this with shock showing on their faces.

"Hey, hey…that's not true, Mikey…! Raph said those words whilst he was in an explosive rage that he alone couldn't control…He came to his senses as soon as you said his nickname…that was what helped him to stop and take a moment to realise what he was doing…" Leo said firmly but softly as he gave Mikey's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"That's right…not only did you save Leo, but you saved Raph from himself…You were so brave back there, Mikey…" April said softly in agreement with a warm smile.

Mikey slowly lifted his head up from his hands to look at his oldest brother and human friend in surprise, especially when he saw the warm smiles on their faces before he heard Leo speak to April again.

"Did you check to see if his arms are ok, April?"

"Not yet…I was just about to do that, but Mikey suddenly said that he felt sick so I instantly gave him his small bin just as he was about to throw up…" April answered as she shook her head. Leo nodded in understanding before he looked back at Mikey and spoke to him next.

"Ok, Mikey, let's get your jacket off so that we can check your arms to see if any of your stitches have come loose after your fall from earlier…"

Mikey nodded with a whispered 'Ok' before he slowly unzipped the jacket and moved his bandaged arms out of the sleeves one at a time, with some help from Leo and April.

As soon as the jacket was fully off, April went straight to work with checking Mikey's arms for any signs of bleeding, but luckily, she didn't find any because the bandages were still white in colour and all the stitches were still intact after she removed the bandages.

"You must be one tough turtle, Mikey…because both of your arms are looking fine so far…" April said with relief in her voice, causing Leo to breathe a sigh of relief himself before he noticed that Mikey was starting to look a bit sleepy.

"Are you tired, Mikey?" Leo asked softly before he got a nod from his baby brother in response to his question. "I don't blame you; you've had a rough few hours…"

"Yeah…Let's get you tucked into bed so that you can take a nap and rest…" April said sweetly in agreement.

Again, Mikey only nodded in response to April's words before he was helped into his bed which, thanks to Serling, had a fresh clean blanket and mattress cover on it. Once Mikey had laid down, Leo covered him up with the blanket, and April helped in tucking him in shortly after.

"Sweet dreams, Mikey…" April said soothingly before giving him a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Sleep well, bro…One of us will be here for when you wake up..." Leo said softly as he gently stroked his brother's head to soothe him to sleep.

"M'kay…Thanks, guys…" Mikey whispered before he fell asleep seconds later.

Leo and April looked at each other in sadness before they made themselves comfortable on their chairs in Mikey's room so that they could watch over him to make sure that he didn't have any nightmares whilst he slept.

/

_Meanwhile, up topside…_

Raph was now topside and had started a rampage on the rooftops to try and get his remaining anger out before he could calm down and get himself under control, whilst Casey tried to catch up with him so that he could stop him before something bad happened to him.

"Raph, wait!" Casey called out to his best friend for what seemed to be the third time since leaving the lair to go after him and watch over him.

"Rrraaaaarrgh! What is wrong with me!?" Raph roared out loud before he smashed a couple of crates hard with his fists.

"Raph, calm down!" Casey shouted to try and reach out to his best friend, but it was as if Raph wasn't listening as he carried on destroying random objects.

With this in mind, Casey charged towards Raph and knocked him down to the ground before he pinned him and spoke in a firmer tone.

"I said, calm down, man...!"

"Calm down!? How can I do dat after what I tried ta do back home!? You saw what happened back in da lair, Casey…! I almost killed my little brother, fa cryin' out loud!" Raph shouted out whilst struggling to release himself from Casey's grip but was failing miserably because his human best friend was not budging.

"I know dat, Raph! We all know dat! Ya lost control of ya anger, but ya snapped out of it, didn't ya?" Casey then said before he slowly got off of Raph who had frozen after hearing the last part.

"W-Well, yeah, but…I didn't do it myself…Mikey, he…" Raph said before he slowly cut himself off and thought back to some of the words that Mikey said to him earlier.

'_R-Raphie…If you wanna end my life, I'm not stopping you…'_

_'This is what you wanted, isn't it!?'_

"I-I didn't ask fa dis…I _never wanted_ Mikey dead!" Raph then said in a distraught tone.

"We know ya don't…" Casey said firmly but softly before he helped Raph up and guided him to a less exposed part of the roof and sat him down on a crate, and then sat himself down next to him.

After a moment of silence, Casey spoke again with a question.

"When was da last time ya heard him say your nickname before today, man?"

"Well…Mikey first called me 'Raphie' when we were kids…He would call me dat whenever he felt scared or durin' times where he'd tease me…Now, he would call me dat every once in a while…especially when he was scared, hurt, or sick…" Raph answered with a sad smirk before tears developed in his eyes as he thought back on his memories of him and his brothers during their childhood and whilst they were growing up.

"Do ya really think dat…Mikey is at fault fa causin' ya family ta fall apart?" Casey asked sincerely in order to get an honest answer from his best friend.

"Wha…? No! I don't know why I said dat ta him! He has been known ta push my buttons sometimes, but…he ain't a bad guy…!" Raph answered with a stunned look on his face.

"But Mikey doesn't believe dat, though…he's still scared around ya cos he thinks dat ya only see him as a murderer!" Casey pointed out sadly.

Raph sighed as he covered his face with his hands. He instantly felt guilty and regretful for what he had said and done to his baby brother, and he also couldn't believe that he had lost control of his anger once again and tried to cause serious harm to all of his brothers, especially Mikey.

"Dat Viral…why didn't she leave us alone…!? Now look what she did ta us; we're fallin' apart cos of her!" He said through gritted teeth whilst trying to keep his tears from falling.

"Hey…I don't know who dis Viral was cos April and I weren't there at da time durin' ya travel back home, but ya shouldn't let her get ta ya, especially when it comes ta ya family…" Casey said in a firm but caring tone as he placed a comforting hand on Raph's shoulder.

"But I did a lot of bad things ta Mikey…There's no way dat he'll ever want ta see or speak ta me again after what I did ta him!" Raph replied before slamming his fist on the crate that he was sitting on.

"Of course he will, Raph…! Just give him some time and reconnect with him gently, but ya can only do dis by lettin' _him_ come ta _you _first…ya get me?" Casey said caringly as he made eye contact with his best friend.

Raph thought about that for a moment before realising that Casey had made a good point just now; if he kept trying to go near Mikey in his personal space too soon and too quickly, it would cause the youngest turtle to try and avoid him even more, so he decided to take Casey's words of wisdom and allow Mikey to come to him at his own pace.

"Heh…never thought I'd say dis, Casey, but you're right…I guess I gotta be patient with him…" He said with a smirk.

"Yeah, ya better believe I'm right!" Casey said proudly before firmly but softly punched Raph on the arm, causing the red-banded turtle to chuckle lightly whilst rubbing his arm.

"Ya calmed down a bit now, bud?" Casey then said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah…let's go home..." Raph answered with a nod before he was helped up by Casey after holding his hand out to him.

The duo then made their back to the lair whilst sticking to the shadows to avoid being detected by any patrolling enemies that might be nearby.

/

_The turtles' lair…_

Raph and Casey returned to the lair after travelling back without running into any problems or enemies, and the first thing they saw as soon as they arrived was Leo, who was sitting at the dining table and drinking some tea before he sensed their presence and looked up at them with a surprised but firm look on his face. This caused an awkward atmosphere to develop around them once they made eye contact with each other.

"Err…Hey, Leo…We're back…" Casey said sheepishly.

"I can see that Casey…Can you give me and Raph some time alone, please? April was starting to worry about you, anyway…" Leo replied flatly before he nodded towards Mikey's room where April was still watching over Mikey.

Casey only nodded with a hum in response to Leo's words before he patted Raph's shoulder whilst whispering 'Good luck' to him, and then he left him to make his way towards Mikey's room so that Leo could have a word with Raph without anyone interrupting him.

It wasn't until Casey entered Mikey's room and closed the door shut that Leo spoke with anger showing on his face.

"What the shell were you thinking when you attacked us like that, Raph!? You could've seriously hurt one of us!"

"I'm sorry, Leo…I didn't mean ta do dat ta you guys…!" Raph replied in an unusually low tone of voice.

"Never mind apologising to me and Donnie for now, Raph…it's _Mikey_ who deserves an apology from you, because he took every word that your angry self said to him to heart!" Leo then said in a seething tone.

"I know! I know…I have no excuse fa what I did ta him…" Raph said firmly before softening his tone when he said the last part.

"Look, I get that you've been feeling frustrated lately…but there was no need to let your anger take over you and go on a rampage…you need to work on managing that a bit more…" Leo said in a less firm tone after letting out a sigh to calm himself down.

"I'll work on it, bro…I promise…" Raph said quietly with a sigh before he asked something important. "How's Mikey doin', anyway?"

"He's in his bed asleep…before that, however, he suddenly felt sick and started throwing up because of the shock from your earlier actions…April's been keeping an eye on him ever since…" Leo explained sadly.

"Shell…" Raph said in shame as he covered his face with one hand and sighed after hearing that.

Leo's facial expression softened at the sight of his immediate younger brother who was looking close to tearing up, so he got nearer to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before he spoke again.

"Listen, Raph…Mikey will only come and talk to you if he is given a chance to do so in his own time…You just need to be patient with him…"

"Don't worry, bro…Casey said somethin' like dat ta me earlier…I know what I need ta do…" Raph said instantly when he was reminded about something that Casey had already advised him on earlier.

"Good…" Leo said with relief in his heart and mind before he looked at the clock on the wall, which had just turned one o'clock. "Looks like it's lunchtime…do you want to get something to eat?"

"Nah, not yet…I think I'm gonna go work on my bike first…" Raph said whilst shaking his head before he made his way towards the garage to go and work on his motorbike.

Leo didn't stop Raph from walking away, and instead just gave him a nod in understanding before allowing him to go, because he knew that his immediate younger brother needed to occupy himself in order to clear his head and think about what he should do for later on.

After seeing Raph off, Leo resumed his focus on Mikey. He was about to make his way back to his little brother's room to check on him when he saw April and Casey walking towards him with the young turtle closely walking beside them, surprising the blue-banded turtle before he spoke.

"Hey, guys…I see that Mikey's awake. Is everything ok?"

"It's alright, Leo, Mikey's fine…" Casey said immediately to ease Leo's concerns before April spoke next.

"As soon as he woke up, he said that he was feeling hungry so we were planning on having one of us go and make him some food, but he wanted to leave his bed and come with us to have lunch together…"

"I see…" Leo replied before he looked at Mikey, who was looking a little nervous, with a warm smile as he spoke.

"Come on, little brother…let's go get some lunch…"

Mikey only nodded with a shy smile in response to Leo's words before he, April, and Casey followed Leo into the kitchen to start making lunch for themselves.

_/_

_1 hour later… _

"Man, dat was delicious, babe…!" Casey said after he finished eating his lunch and patted his full stomach in satisfaction.

"Yeah, thank you, April…" Leo said in agreement after taking another sip of his drink.

"Your welcome, you two…! I'm always happy to help!" April said happily with a warm smile before she frowned when she saw Mikey looking down whilst slowly chewing the last bite of his sandwich.

"Mikey? What's the matter?" She asked him softly to avoid startling him.

"Are you feeling sick again?" Leo immediately asked with worry showing on his face.

"N-No, I-I'm fine…The food was great…It's just…" Mikey answered shakily before he looked around to see if Raph or Donnie were nearby, but neither brother was around.

"You're thinking about Raph and Donnie, aren't you?" Leo theorised before he got a nod of confirmation from Mikey.

"Come to think of it, Neither Raph nor Donnie was at the dining table when we came out of Mikey's room. Are they ok?" April then said in concern for both Raph and Donnie.

"Raph has gone into the garage to work on his bike, and Donnie went into his room without saying a lot to me after I asked him if he was alright and if he needed anything…I think he's still a bit ticked off at Raph for punching him earlier…" Leo answered with a sigh.

"Oh, yeah! Speakin' of which…" Casey said before he looked at Mikey with a proud smirk as he spoke again.

"Dat was an amazin' thing ya did fa ya bros earlier, Mikey…Great job!"

"Yeah, it was…Thank you again, Mikey…you really saved my shell…" Leo praised his baby brother as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I-It's alright…" Mikey replied shakily with his face blushing bashfully.

The group then spent another few minutes drinking what was left of their drinks in silence before they got up from their chairs and were about to take Mikey back to his room when they noticed that he was not moving and looked a bit zoned out.

"Is something wrong, Mikey?" Leo asked his little brother when he first noticed his stillness.

"N-No, it's nothing…let's go…" Mikey answered after snapping himself out of his thoughts.

"Actually…is it ok if ya come with me ta da garage fa a sec?" Casey suddenly said before he took a tray with a glass of orange juice and a cheese sandwich on top of it.

"Huh? W-Why…?" Mikey asked nervously.

"Arnold Casey Jones, what are you up to?" April questioned with an unhappy look on her face due to a bad feeling that she felt build up in her heart.

"Well…I was just gonna take dis into da garage, and-"

"What!? You-know-who in red is still in there!" Leo cut Casey off with a hiss to prevent Mikey from hearing him.

"You better not be putting Mikey in a difficult position, is that clear?" April said firmly with arms crossed.

"Trust me, guys; I know what I'm doin'…" Casey said quietly to keep Mikey from suspecting him on what he was about to do.

"Alright, just don't push him, ok?" Leo said with a sigh.

Casey gave both Leo and April a nod before he and Mikey made their way towards the garage.

_/_

_The garage…_

Casey opened the garage door after passing Mikey the lunch tray, and the first thing they heard after entering was the sound of tools being used by Raph who was facing his motorbike and was oblivious to the duo coming in.

"Yo, Raph! I've brought ya some lunch…! April made it fa ya!" Casey announced a bit loudly, causing both Mikey and Raph to jump with a start.

"Put it on da table, ya bonehead! I ain't done with my bike yet!" Raph replied in an annoyed tone without even looking at his human best friend.

"Ok, ok…It's on da table behind ya whenever ya want it…" Casey said reassuringly before he gently nudged Mikey to encourage him to move, which had worked because he slowly made his way towards the table and put the tray down.

However, as he was putting the plate and glass onto the table, Mikey began to panic when he noticed that Casey had disappeared from the doorway even though he left the door ajar.

"Okaaay…fixed!" He then heard Raph say before the red-banded turtle turned on the engine to check if it was running properly. A moment later, the engine made a popping noise and suddenly stopped completely with a bang, causing Raph to look at his bike in anger.

"Argh! Ya piece of junk!" He shouted before he kicked his bike hard in frustration, startling Mikey in the process.

"What's da point? Dis is becomin' a pain…Is it _too much_ ta ask ta have a workin' bike fa once!?" He then said as he took slow breaths to try and calm himself down.

"E-Err, yeah…I-It's…err, a shame…" Mikey mumbled out quietly whilst looking down.

"Huh?" Raph snapped out of his hissy fit and looked behind him when he heard someone respond to him. It was then that his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Mikey by the table instead of Casey.

"Mikey…?" Raph whispered but he knew that Mikey still heard it because the look on the young turtle's face had turned from nervous to terrified as soon as he heard his name.

"I-I was just about to leave…M'sorry…" Mikey said in a panic before he hastily made his way towards the door to leave. But then;

"Wait…"

Mikey paused with wide eyes but didn't turn around, and instead just stood in front of the door shakily as Raph spoke again.

"I-I'm, err…glad ta see dat ya up and about again…"

"…" Mikey didn't say anything to respond to that, because he didn't know what to say to the brother who tried to kill him earlier.

"I-I know that I, err…scared ya pretty badly earlier…" Raph then said before he continued on when he noticed that Mikey wasn't responding to him still.

"Look, I just…wanna say dat…I'm really sorry fa hurtin' ya back there…I lost my temper and attacked ya, which was completely uncalled for…"

"N-No…y-you had every right to attack me…I-I…" Mikey instantly said as he turned his head half-way but still kept his eyes low.

"Don't try ta deny it, Mikey…everyone saw what happened, so drop da self-blame act, alright…?" Raph said firmly but softly as he shook his head and slowly walked towards his brother.

"B-But, I-I…" Mikey tried to say something to counter what Raph said, but he couldn't think of anything and suddenly started to tear up from the feelings of fear and sadness building up inside him once more.

Raph noticed this straight away and guilt struck him hard in the chest; he, as well as Donnie, had been really harsh towards Mikey for some time now and neither of them knew the consequences that would affect the youngest until it was almost too late. With this in mind, Raph sighed sadly before he took another step forward and spoke again.

"Hey…Ya ain't a bad person, Mike…and I _know_ dat ya not a murderer…really, ya not…"

By the time he had finished speaking, he was standing behind Mikey, who sensed his close presence as he felt his heart pound so hard and fast that it might shoot out of his chest.

"D-Don't…I-I…" Mikey stuttered as he tried to keep himself from breaking down in front of the hot-headed turtle.

Then, in a slow but gentle move, Raph walked in front of Mikey, wrapped his arms around him, and brought him closer to his plastron to give him a secure but comforting hug, causing the youngest to tense up and widen his eyes in shock.

"Let it all out, lil' bro…Ya don't have ta hold it in anymore…" Raph said in an unusually gentle tone.

After a moment of silence, Mikey did just that; he allowed his tears to fall as he immediately sobbed his heart out whilst pressing his face against Raph's plastron before he wrapped his own arms around the red-banded turtle's waist to return the hug.

Raph looked down to look at Mikey's head and instantly felt that, as his older brother, he needed to be there for him, and that this was a way for him to atone for his part in causing Mikey's depressive and suicidal state. He remembered the way Mikey looked at him and his other older brothers back in the astral plane; scared, hurt, heartbroken, and alone, and Raph really didn't want to see Mikey like that ever again.

"It's alright, bro…I'm here fa ya…and always will be from now on…" Raph promised softly before he gently kissed Mikey's head and continued on with giving him the comfort that he really needed.

Unbeknownst to him and Mikey, they didn't notice Leo, April, and Casey leaning close to the door and overhearing everything that had been said, causing them to smile with more hope in their hearts to know that the two turtles were finally beginning to reconnect with one another.


	14. Part 14-Brain Vs Heart

Part 14-Brain Vs Heart

A whole week had passed since the incident between Raph and his brothers, and despite a slow start, Mikey's relationship with Raph was almost fully repaired.

During the first few days, Mikey remained cautious and nervous whenever he was near Raph whilst doing things such as making food or going from one room to another, but Raph understood his reasons and did his best to keep his distance and remain patient with him until the youngest was ready to talk to him again.

It wasn't until near the end of the week that Mikey eventually felt a bit more comfortable with Raph being around him.

/

_Flashback… _

_Mikey was preparing dinner for everyone after he was given the all-clear from Leatherhead when the young turtle went with Leo to see him for a check-up on his arms, both of which have finally had their stitches removed by the big reptile himself._

_Despite the offer of help from Leo, April, and Casey, Mikey insisted that he could manage on his own and that he wanted to make them dinner, which was a simple pasta dish, as a way of thanking them for their support during his physical and emotional recovery. Raph, on the other hand, had been watching everything that was going on in the shadows to avoid making Mikey feel awkward or nervous to a point where he wants to run and lock himself in his room._

_However, what the group didn't know was that Mikey had not slept well for a few days in a row because not only was he still having mixed feelings about what had happened between him and Raph a week ago, but he was also stressing about how he could repair the broken relationship between him and Donnie once he saw him again. This had made him slightly wobbly on his feet and develop a lack of concentration._

_After setting the table, Mikey went over to the oven to take the now-ready pasta and sauce off the hob and to the table to start transferring it onto the plates._

_It was then that a wave of dizziness and fatigue had suddenly hit him as he was halfway towards the table with the food in his hands, causing him to lose his footing and fall forward._

_Everyone around the table looked on in horror and were about to take action when a flash of red zoomed passed them and caught Mikey just as he was about to land hard on the floor with the hot food in front of him. Luckily, the pasta was already mixed in with the tomato sauce in the deep steel pot, so it didn't spill after landing hard on the floor. _

_"Mikey? Hey…you ok, bro?" Raph asked Mikey in concern as he held him in his arms after lowering him down to the ground, whilst the others gathered around the fallen turtle with worried looks on their faces._

_"Mmm…Wha' h'ppned…?" Mikey slurred out as he slowly came around from his dizzy spell._

_"You lost your footing and fell, Mikey…Raph was able to catch you before you could hit the floor…" Leo answered whilst giving his little brother's hand a gentle squeeze._

_"You don't look so good, Mikey…are you sure you're ok?" April asked as she lowered down to Mikey's level with a worried look on her face._

_"E-Erm…" Mikey didn't respond as he tried to think of what to say without causing an argument._

_"Ya haven't been sleepin' well, have ya?" Raph questioned when he saw how tired Mikey looked._

_"I-I…"_

_"Ya got bags under your eyes, bro…there's no point in tryin' ta deny it…" Raph pointed out, leaving no space for Mikey to try and deny anything._

_"Mikey, have you been having nightmares again?" Leo asked in a slightly serious but worried tone._

_"N-No, it's not that…" Mikey answered whilst shaking his head a little._

_"Then, what's wrong?" Leo then asked firmly but in slight desperation because he was concerned that Mikey was feeling troubled by something but was refusing to tell anyone the reason why._

_"I…" Mikey was about to start explaining his reason for not sleeping properly, but then he suddenly started to feel emotional, and tears began to develop and fall from his eyes. _

_"Come on, bro…Ya can tell us anythin'…" Raph told his little brother encouragingly as he gave his upper body a slight squeeze. Knowing that he couldn't hide it anymore, Mikey took a deep breath and started speaking._

_"I…I don't know what to do anymore! I'm trying so hard to think of what else I can do to help you guys, but I can't…"_

_"What makes you think that? You're an amazing person to be around and you're a great cook because you make a lot of delicious meals for us!" Leo said firmly but caringly after he was stunned by what Mikey just said._

_"But Look at me; I can't even do anything right in the kitchen anymore, let alone be a proper ninja! What good am I to all of you now!?" Mikey countered in denial whilst he looked at his shaking hands._

_"Hey, dat ain't true, bro…! You're great at bein' a ninja and at dis cookin' stuff too, but ya can't do everything alone! Dat's why ya got us!" Raph said firmly but softly as he shook his head._

_"That's right! You're exhausted, Mikey, and we just want to help you and make sure that you're ok…" Leo said in agreement._

_"Yeah! There's nothing wrong with asking or receiving help from others…!" April said as she gently patted Mikey's knee._

_"Right! Cos d__at's what friends and family are for, ya know!" Casey said in agreement with a soft smirk._

_"B-But you're always picking up after me…I don't want you to keep doing that for me anymore!" Mikey countered back as he tried but failed to wipe away his falling tears._

_"Mikey…In this family, we look out for each other…and we will always be there, as your brothers, to pick up your pieces and put them back together, no matter how many times they get broken apart and scattered…" Leo replied softly as he placed a comforting hand on Mikey's wet cheek._

_"Yeah, bro…Life ain't been easy fa us growin' up, but we always lived and got through it together…" Raph pointed out softly._

_A moment later, Mikey became more emotional after hearing both Raph's and Leo's words, and then he leaned against Raph's plastron before he cried again, releasing all of his sadness and frustration out in the process. Raph didn't push Mikey away like he would normally do, but instead, he wrapped his arms around his baby brother to bring him closer and allow him to release everything that he had been holding back for so long._

_"Oh, Mikey…" April said quietly as she and the others watched in sadness as Mikey continued to sob until he slowly began to fall asleep in the security of Raph's arms._

_"Let's get him to bed…he needs more sleep…" Leo said softly before he got up and watched as Raph stood up whilst carefully lifting Mikey into a bridal-style hold._

_Once he knew that his brother was ready, Leo headed towards Mikey's room and opened the door to allow Raph to go inside and gently lay Mikey down on his bed, cover him up with his blanket, and tuck him in. He then noticed that instead of leaving Mikey alone to sleep, Raph grabbed a chair and brought it closer to the bed before he sat on it and kept his face, which was full of determination, focused on Mikey._

_"Raph, aren't you coming back out?" Leo questioned with a raised eyebrow._

_"Nah, I'm gonna stay and keep an eye on him, bro…I'll call ya if I need ya, ok?" Raph replied as he gave Leo a quick look at his face before he resumed his focus on the sleeping Mikey._

_"Sure thing…I'll come and check on you both in a couple of hours…" Leo said in understanding since Raph has been known to immediately put himself on guard duty whenever one of his brothers was ill or injured before he received a nod and a hum from Raph and made his way out of the room altogether to leave the duo to have some peace and quiet._

_"Raphie?" Mikey called out his brother's nickname sleepily after a moment of silence, causing Raph to jump slightly and speak back in a soft whisper._

_"Yeah, Mike?" Raph then leaned closer to hear what Mikey was going to say next._

_"…Thanks…" Mikey whispered before he closed his eyes and fell into a deeper sleep._

_"Anytime, bro…Anytime…" Raph replied softly with a warm smirk as he gently patted his brother's head before he relaxed more into his chair and continued his watch over his baby brother as he slept to ensure that he wouldn't suffer from more nightmares that might occur at any point during his slumber._

_End of flashback…_

_/_

_Present..._

Ever since that day, the bond between Mikey and Raph had grown stronger. In fact, Mikey was starting to allow Raph in helping him with meal preparations such as setting the table and sorting out the cutlery, and they also sat next to and talk to each other more during meal times and in the TV area without any issues.

Leo, April, and Casey were really happy for the two brothers to finally have their brotherly bond mended, but there was now only one person that needed to come to his senses and talk to his little brother, and that person was Donnie.

For the past week and a half, despite acknowledging that Mikey had returned home, Donnie deliberately took no notice of him and just carried on with what he was doing as normal whilst behaving like Mikey didn't really exist.

Mikey already noticed this and had really wanted to try and talk to his immediate older brother, but he backed out on a few occasions because not only did he have this bad feeling in his heart that something might go horribly wrong, but it was also due to the way Donnie looked at him that scared him away, which was an intimidating scowl.

Having seen enough of his disrespectful behaviour, Leo decided to confront Donnie about it as soon as everyone was up and breakfast was finished. Speaking of which, Mikey was in the middle of making breakfast for him and his brothers, and he walked over to the table to give them their respective drinks first when he noticed that Donnie was still nowhere to be seen.

"Donnie's not joining us, is he?" He questioned sadly as he looked at Leo with tired eyes.

"I…I don't know, Mikey...he might go straight to the computer area as soon as he gets up…" Leo answered in uncertainty due to not knowing himself if Donnie was going to eat breakfast with them or skip it again to go into Cyberspace as soon as he was awake.

"M-Maybe I should-" Mikey was about to leave as he spoke but Raph stopped him by firmly cutting him off.

"Don't even think about leavin' just cos Donnie doesn't wanna be around fa breakfast, bro! It ain't your fault dat he's stubborn…!"

Before Leo was about to say something next, two familiar voices were suddenly heard from behind him.

"Good morning, guys!" "Mornin'!" It was April and Casey, and they both walked in with smiles on their faces and a woven basket in hand.

"Morning, you two! You've just arrived in time for breakfast!" Leo replied back happily.

"Great! I guess it was a good thing that we brought our breakfast ingredients with us…!" April said as she placed the basket on the kitchen side and got all the ingredients out before she helped Mikey with the rest of the breakfast-making.

"Thanks, April…" Mikey said gratefully, which April responded by smiling at him and giving him a sideways hug.

Once they were ready, Mikey and April dished up the cooked breakfasts and passed Leo, Raph, and Casey their plates before they sat down with their own, and then they all began tucking into their breakfasts, despite acknowledging Donnie's absence.

/

_15 minutes later…_

"Man…dat was delicious!" Raph said as he patted his now full belly in delight.

"I Agwee!" Casey said in agreement whilst chewing the last mouthful of his breakfast, much to April and Leo's disgust.

"Casey, don't talk with your mouthful!" April said firmly as she punched Casey's arm, with Leo watching on whilst shaking his head before he spoke.

"Anyway, thank you for cooking our breakfasts, Mikey and April…!"

"Your welcome, Leo!" April replied happily.

"Y-Yeah, it's no problem…" Mikey replied in a quiet tone whilst looking a bit down in thought.

"Hm? What's wrong, Mikey? Are you not feeling well?" April asked in concern when she noticed that Mikey was taking more time to eat his breakfast than the others.

"I-It's not that, it's…erm…" Mikey started to answer April's question but suddenly froze when he thought about Donnie, so Raph finished the answer for him instead.

"Mikey's worried cos he thinks dat it's his fault dat Donnie ain't joinin' us fa breakfast…"

"What!? That's not true…! I'm sure Donnie wouldn't mind you being here and having breakfast with us…" April said with a stunned look on her face.

"Yeah! Don't worry about what Donnie thinks, cos ya part of da family too! It's his loss if he misses out…!" Casey said firmly.

"But what if I cause Donnie to stop having his meals altogether!? I don't wanna be responsible for the downfall of another family member…!" Mikey countered back in a panicked tone, shocking the others.

"Hey, now…that won't happen, Mikey!" Leo said firmly but softly as he gently grabbed Mikey's hand and squeezed it.

"Yeah! And besides, he needs ta hear from _you_ on how ya really feelin' about his behaviour!" Raph said with a nod.

"He might not wanna listen to me, though! He hates me, remember?" Mikey pointed out anxiously.

"Mikey, Donnie might look like he hates you from the outside, but I know that he loves and cares about you deep down on the inside…!" Leo pointed out as he completely understood why Mikey was feeling this way.

"Right, and I'm sure that he will give you a chance to talk to him later when the time is right!" April then said in an encouraging tone whilst placing a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Mikey was completely taken aback by everyone's words; they all understood how he was feeling and they all said that they would support him through whatever was troubling him in terms of speaking from his own heart and mind towards Donnie.

With this in mind, Mikey took a moment to let everything that had been said to him sink in before he took a deep breath and spoke with determination in his voice.

"Ok, then…I'll talk to him as soon as he comes over!"

"Dat's da spirit, Mikey…!" Casey praised with a thumbs-up.

"And don't worry about doing it alone, because we'll be right by your side to support you through it all!" Leo said reassuringly with the others nodding in agreement.

"Thanks, you guys…" Mikey said before his appetite came back, making him finish the rest of his breakfast more quickly.

A few minutes later, the sounds of a door opening and closing echoed through the lair, which only meant one thing; Donnie was awake.

Everyone turned to the left to see Donnie walking towards the kitchen and switching on the coffee maker whilst wearing a cranky look on his face.

"Morning, Donnie! Want some breakfast?" Leo offered as he was about to get up from his chair and get Donnie's breakfast out of the fridge.

"I'm not hungry…" Donnie said flatly, immediately turning down Leo's offer.

"Come on, Don…! Ya been sayin' dat way too many times now! Ya worryin' us!" Raph said firmly because he was starting to feel frustrated that Donnie was once again declining one of the most important meals of the day.

Donnie just ignored Raph's concern as he stood and waited by the coffee machine until his coffee was brewed and ready to drink. He took out his coffee mug and poured some of the coffee into it before he turned and walked away from everyone to head for the computer area.

As Donnie was about to leave the dining area altogether, Mikey quickly got up from his chair and walked after him, with Leo instantly following him from behind due to sensing what Mikey was about to do.

"Donnie, wait a minute!" Leo called out as he got ahead of Mikey and grabbed Donnie's shoulder, causing him to stop and turn around.

"Leo, I don't-" Donnie was about to dismiss his oldest brother but he suddenly cut himself off when he saw Mikey standing next to Leo.

"Hey, Donnie…" Mikey said shyly but with determination in his voice.

"What's _he_ doing here!?" Donnie questioned harshly as soon as he saw Mikey's face, which immediately changed from determined to scared.

"He just wants to talk to you, that's all…" Leo answered firmly but softly.

"Talk to me!? He's already wasting my time by being near me! Now, if you'll excuse me…" Donnie replied bitterly as he looked at Mikey with fire-filled eyes.

"Donnie…!" April said in shock with wide eyes after hearing how spiteful Donnie sounded when she heard him talk to his own brother in front of Leo and Mikey himself before she and the others watched as he turned his back on the duo and continued his way towards the computer area.

Instead of running away like the last time he was insulted by Donnie, Mikey walked towards the purple-banded turtle as he spoke again with a nervous but determined look on his face.

"L-Look, Donnie, I just wanna-"

"SHUT. UP!"

Everyone flinched slightly after Donnie turned around and cut off Mikey in a loud and angry tone of voice before they heard him speak again.

"I have told you more than once before that you are not allowed to be here, because you're nothing but trouble! Now, leave me alone!"

Mikey didn't say anything at first, and instead just lowered his head down in sadness but, at the same time, the feeling of emotional anger began to build up in his heart and mind, causing him to breathe deeply and develop a frustrated look on his face.

"Well? Why are you still standing around in my space!? Get away from me!" Donnie then shouted out after a moment of silence as he pointed his finger next to Mikey as a signal to tell him to leave.

"Then…Why don't you MAKE ME!?"

As Mikey shouted this, he grabbed Donnie's extended arm and threw him across the room, shocking the others after seeing this happen.

"Mikey, what are you doing!?" Leo said in shock after what he had just witness Mikey do.

"Don't. Get. Involved, Leo…! If Donnie won't listen to a word I say, then I'll have to knock some sense into that so-called smart brain of his!" Mikey replied in a seething tone before he slowly started walking towards Donnie with his nun-chucks spinning in each hand.

Neither Leo nor Raph, who was planning on stopping a fight from occurring, did anything to stop this because they knew that Mikey was partly right; if Donnie wasn't going to listen to anyone verbally, then he would have to listen through a ninja battle.

"If that's how you're going to be, Mikey, then so be it!" Donnie said firmly as he got up and grabbed his bo staff from his back before he charged towards Mikey to attack him.

Mikey saw the attack coming and was able to dodge the first strike, but Donnie was smarter and knew that the young turtle would do that as he spun around and struck him hard on the head with the back end of his bo staff, causing him to fall in a daze. Donnie didn't allow Mikey the chance to stand back up as he kicked the young turtle on his side and sent him flying a couple of metres away from him, and then landed plastron-first on the ground with a grunt.

"You can't beat me, Mikey! And you never will, so you might as well just stop and admit defeat, already!" Donnie said firmly as he stood in another battle pose with his bo staff in his arms.

"I don't _CARE_!" Mikey shouted back as he got back up before he took out and threw two ninja stars at Donnie, who dodged them both but one of them scratched his leg in the process, causing him to hiss from the stinging sensation that it made.

The two younger brothers continued on with their fight for another two minutes. Despite having sore arms due to the still-healing slash wounds, Mikey remained strong and agile as he dodged Donnie's attacks and attempted to land a few hits on him. Donnie did the same as he swiftly dodged Mikey's attacks and tried to land some attacks of his own with his bo staff.

"Guys, stop it!" "Yeah, dis has gone on long enough, bros!" Leo and Raph yelled out desperately to try and stop their younger brothers from fighting one another after letting this go on for too long.

"Stay out of this!" Donnie and Mikey said firmly in unison, causing both Leo and Raph to back away with stunned looks on their faces, clearly realising that their brotherly commands didn't work.

"I'm _tired_ of you constantly reminding me of the things that I _hate_ about myself!" Mikey shouted out before he threw a chair at Donnie, who immediately blocked and deflected it with his bo staff before charging towards the young turtle with anger still on his face as he spoke.

"I'm reminding you because it's _true_!"

Donnie attempted to strike Mikey with his bo staff, but Mikey dodged it just seconds before it could hit him in the face and then kicked Donnie hard in the plastron, causing him to fly backward and land hard on the ground. Despite this, however, Donnie growled as he slowly got up before he spoke heatedly to specify what he meant earlier.

"You always make things difficult for us during missions and you bring nothing but disaster to every single one of us! You had to be the only one out of us four to be mutated with a _stupid _mind!"

Those words shocked Mikey, as well as the others, to the very core. Never in his life had Mikey ever heard Donnie say those awful things about him without even thinking about how this would emotionally affect him afterward.

It was at that moment that Mikey had completely lost it; everyone watched in horror as he charged towards Donnie again with an angry but tearful roar and punched him in the plastron and then across his face, making him fall again in a daze for a moment.

"You think I wanted to be mutated into the person I am now!? No! I didn't ask to be mutated and made into this!" Mikey cried out towards Donnie in frustration with tears still streaming down his face before he continued.

"I have tried everything to be what you and the others wanted me to be, but it's never good enough for you, no matter how hard I try! And, you know what; I'M SICK OF IT!"

"Mikey…" Leo said in shock after hearing and not realising that Mikey was feeling this way before he heard Mikey speak again after he calmed himself down a bit.

"So answer me this, Donnie…Why? Why won't you accept me as _me_? And why won't you let me help you bring dad back?"

Donnie didn't respond to Mikey at first as he slowly stood back up and rubbed his sore cheek, but it wasn't until a moment later that he said something as he turned away from him.

"This discussion is done…"

"Wha…? Just _tell me_!" Mikey demanded desperately.

"I am _not_ going to repeat myself, Mikey!" Donnie then said firmly as he slowly began to walk towards the computer area, but Mikey was not ready to give up yet.

"I don't understand! Why won't you let me make up for what happened? Please, let me help you-" Mikey tried to reach out to his immediate older brother, but he was instantly cut off by an enraged Donnie.

"I will NOT have you come anywhere near me or the computers because I KNOW that you will just ruin everything _again_! So, just GO AWAY!"

As Donnie said the last part of his last sentence he, without warning, angrily grabbed Mikey by the front neck of his jacket, spun him halfway and let go as he kicked him hard in the plastron, causing Mikey to gasp as he landed further away from Donnie and groan in pain from the hard impact.

"Enough!" Leo immediately shouted out as he stood between Donnie and Mikey due to having seen enough of watching two of his younger brothers fight against each other.

"Mikey, are you ok!?" April called out to the youngest turtle as she, Casey, and Raph ran towards him to check if he was ok.

"Y-Yeah…M'fine…" Mikey mumbled quietly as he slowly got back up with April's help.

"Grr…What da shell was dat for, Donnie!? Ya could've hurt him badly!" Raph yelled out at his immediate younger brother as he tried to walk towards him but Casey held him back.

"He was in my way, Raph…!" Donnie countered back venomously.

"But you didn't have to throw him out of your way like that…! You went too far with him this time, Donatello!" Leo scolded his purple-banded brother.

"Forget it…I'm done here…" Donnie said as he let out a frustrated sigh and started walking towards the computer area in a huff.

"Wait…Let me ask you one more thing, Donnie…Please…?" Mikey said in a calmer tone despite feeling both angry and sad on the inside.

Donnie sighed in annoyance before he turned his head halfway to look at his brother one more time and said, "What?"

"If I really am this useless, unreliable, and selfish screw-up that you've been describing me as…then why…why didn't you and the others just leave me behind in that Shredder-filled dimension to die alone?" Mikey questioned whilst trying to keep himself from breaking down whilst saying it.

The others looked at him in horror when they heard those words come out of Mikey's mouth. Nobody knew how heartbroken Mikey felt until he was at a stage where he wanted to bring up his and his brothers' experience in the Shredder-filled dimension, and what was worse was that Mikey thought that he should have been left there on his own and allow their greatest enemy to kill him with nobody there to protect him or mourn him if that happened.

Donnie, on the other hand, said nothing to respond to Mikey's question, but instead just stood frozen in the same spot and his face became hard to read as it featured a shocked but unsure look because his mind was suddenly in a spin, to a point where he could not think of an answer at all.

"…Just, think about that…"

That was the last thing that everyone heard Mikey say quietly before they watched as he let more of his tears fall and then hastily run away from them.

"Mikey, wait!" "Bro!" Leo and Raph called out to their baby brother, but it was too late as Mikey ran towards the exit and left the lair altogether.

"Donnie…" The two brothers then heard April call out to Donnie and they turned around to see him heading towards the cyber portal, which he had just opened a moment ago.

"Donnie, wait! We need to talk!" Leo called out firmly towards the purple-banded brother.

"Sorry, Leo, but I've got a mission to complete…" Donnie replied in an emotionless tone of voice before he got closer to the portal.

"Donnie, get back here!" Raph demanded but Donnie carried on walking towards the portal as if he was deliberately ignoring him.

Once he was through the portal, it closed and disappeared, leaving everyone to look at the now-empty space with frustrated and sad expressions on their faces.

"Dang it, Donnie…!" Raph said heatedly through gritted teeth.

"We'll worry about him later, Raph…Mikey needs us more right now!" Leo reminded him as he placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"Ya right, bro…let's go find him!" Raph replied with a nod in understanding before he headed towards the lair's exit, with Leo following him from behind after instructing April and Casey to remain in the lair in case either Donnie or Mikey returned before them.


	15. Part 15-To the Rescue!

Part 15-To the Rescue!

_Up topside…_

Mikey didn't know how long he had been running for or how far away he was from the lair, but right now he didn't care about that because all he could think of was getting as far away from everyone as possible.

When he stopped to take a breather from all that running, Mikey fell to his knees and began to tear up before letting out a sob. He really wanted everything that had happened to him and his family to be just a huge nightmare and to wake up from it, but he knew that it was impossible to do so because it was all too real.

All he could think was what he had done back in the lair; as soon as his immediate older brother rejected him with cruel insults after trying but failing to talk to him bro-to-bro, Mikey just lost control of himself and heatedly challenged his brother in a fight in order to get his point across. Despite doing that, however, Donnie still refused to accept Mikey back and continued to despise him instead of hearing him out.

'I-I can't believe...that I failed again...What am I gonna-'

"Well, well, well…Look what we've found; It's one of those turtle freaks, and he's all by himself!"

Mikey was suddenly cut off from his own thoughts when he heard a familiar gangster-like voice coming from behind him. When he turned around, his eyes widened; a large group of Purple Dragons, with a number of around 20 members, was standing there with sickening smirks and their weapons ready in their hands.

"Yeah! Where are ya pals, freak? Did they leave ya cos they were finally sick of ya?" Another member said teasingly.

"S-Shut up! I came here alone! I don't need anyone to protect me anymore!" Mikey shouted back in denial as he got out his nun-chucks and spun them vigorously in his grip.

"Don't you, now? Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" A female member said sarcastically before she and the other members started laughing, causing Mikey to glare at them all in envy.

"Heh, heh! Get him!" Another PD member shouted out before he and the rest of the gang charged towards the young turtle with a roar.

Mikey was caught off guard for a moment when one member swiftly punched him in the face, causing a black eye, before he snapped out of his daze and started to attack the gang with his nun-chucks.

At first, he was doing well by taking out half of the gang members, but he was slowly starting to tire out and his movements were not as fast as they were when he first started fighting them. Seeing this, the PD gang moved all at once and piled on him without giving him the chance to move or fight back.

Soon, Mikey was curled up on the ground to try and protect himself from the punches and kicks that the PD gang was giving him, and their knives were causing not only cuts to the young turtle's skin but it was also tearing his jacket up.

Then, just as Mikey was about to lose hope and admit defeat;

_"Mikey!" "Get away from him, ya purple scumbags!"_

The loud but familiar voices of two older turtle brothers were suddenly heard, causing the PD gang to pause from their beat-up on Mikey before they looked ahead to see Leo and Raph running towards them with rage and determination showing on their faces. Knowing that they were going to get a beating of their lives, the PD gang made themselves scarce and left Mikey alone on the cold rooftop.

Once they knew that they had vanished completely, Leo and Raph hurried over to Mikey when they noticed that he wasn't moving.

"Mikey, are you ok!?" Leo asked worryingly as he gently helped Mikey uncurl himself and stand back up.

"Mm…" Mikey hummed his response as he was still in shock after getting ganged up and beaten by the Purple Dragons.

"Shell, Mikey…! What did they do ta ya!?" Raph said as he gently held Mikey's face and looked at the bruises and black eye covering it.

"M'fine, I've been through worse…" Mikey answered flatly as he lightly batted Raph's hand away before he looked at his now torn-up jacket and his frown deepened. "April and Casey are gonna kill me when they see my jacket…!"

"They won't, Mikey…! Dat jacket can be fixed or replaced, but you're more important ta them than dat thing!" Raph countered firmly but gently.

"That's right! They're worried sick about you right now, little brother…!" Leo said in agreement.

Mikey didn't respond to either of his brothers and, instead, walked over to one of the crates that were tucked away in the corner of the roof before he sat on it and covered his face with his hands whilst letting out a defeated sigh, worrying both Leo and Raph.

"Mikey...? Hey, what's wrong?" Leo asked in concern as he walked over to Mikey, knelt down to his level, and placed a hand on his shoulder before he noticed that the young turtle's body was shaking. He then heard him speak in a sad tone.

"I-I tried, bros…I really have tried…for all of you…b-but…I just…I can't do this anymore…I've failed..."

"Hey, come on now…! Ya can't just give up like dat, bro…!" Raph said in shock after hearing what Mikey just said.

"Yeah, Mikey! You can't let what Donnie said, as well as what happened between you and the Purple Dragons, get to you…!" Leo said whilst gently squeezing Mikey's shoulder.

"B-But…look at the state of me; I can't even win in a battle on my own! Don't you guys get it, yet? I'll never be a better ninja like you guys…cos no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try to improve…You guys were mutated perfectly, but me? My mutation turned out wrong…I became nothing but an accident, a fraud, and most of all…a screw-up!" Mikey countered in tearful denial as he looked up at them, then looked back down and punched the roof floor hard, causing bruises to develop on his hand from the impact.

"Mikey, I swear if ya keep callin' ya self those things one more time…!" Raph said heatedly with an annoyed look on his face.

"Calm down, Raph!" Leo said firmly but softly as he immediately jumped in and stopped Raph by placing a hand on Raph's shoulder to try and calm him down before he looked back at Mikey and spoke to him again.

"Look, Mikey, I get that you desperately want to be more like us…but you need to think about being more like _you_…because no-one knows you better than anyone but your own self!"

"I-I…I can't! If I train harder and be more serious like you guys, then I won't have to be labelled as a screw-up or the weakest ninja anymore!" Mikey said whilst shaking his head.

At this point, Raph was starting to feel even more annoyed; he and Leo had tried more than once to remind Mikey that they don't want him to change who he is for their selfish sakes, but the youngest was still stubbornly refusing to accept his own self because too much negativity was thrown onto him by his own brothers.

"Oh, fa cryin' out loud, Mikey! Ya gotta stop tryin' ta be more like us…ya ain't da same as us cos ya like _you_! Cos we're all born different in dis world, bro…!" He shouted out, startling both Mikey and Leo in the process.

"That's right! Yes, it's horrible being the odd one out at times because we're not all human…but at least you've got us, and we've got you…" Leo stated firmly but caringly after recollecting himself.

Mikey was now on the verge of screaming; he just couldn't understand why his brothers were still trying to remind him that he is something that he feels would never be in his lifetime. However, instead of letting his frustration out with a roar, Mikey released a deep sigh before he looked back up at his brothers and spoke.

"You're wrong! You guys and Donnie are lucky to be the ninjas you are now because you have vital roles to play…Me? I'm just a spanner that keeps getting thrown into the works and ruining everything that you guys worked so hard for…! After the way I was treated when Master Splinter got taken away from us once again, I fell apart…to a point where I came undone completely!"

After saying that, Mikey brought his legs closer to him and placed his folded arms on top of it before he hid his face in it whilst letting out a sad sigh. He was getting tired of telling his brothers his true worthlessness despite no-one else feeling the same way but him. Sensing this, Leo sat next to his baby brother and wrapped an arm around his shoulders before he spoke.

"Mikey, listen...you might be thinking that me, Raph, and Donnie are more perfect than you right now, but we're not…because we have weaknesses too…we just try not to let them dominate everything that makes us who we truly are…we struggle to stay strong because of the impact that we have on everyone…"

"Yeah…ya gotta understand, bro; ya have an impact too, ya know…" Raph then pointed out.

"H-Huh? Why do you think that?" Mikey questioned with a confused look on his face.

"Because there are times where we looked up to _you_ for strength, Mikey…" Leo answered warmly.

"Me? But I-"

"Leo's right, bro…" Raph immediately said to cut off Mikey, surprising him and Leo when they heard that Raph agreed to what the blue-banded turtle said, but Raph carried on speaking despite the slight blush developing on his face.

"Yeah, I know; it's not like me ta say dat…but seriously, what Leo's sayin' is dat there are things dat we need from ya dat only _you_ do best at!"

"Like what?" Mikey said flatly with a sigh, still in denial of his own self.

"Well, have you ever seen us cook a good meal? Out of the four of us, you were the best chef to have in our family…because the rest of us would just cause an explosion in the kitchen and you would get mad and chase us out!" Leo answered with an amused smile as he remembered the memories of when he, Raph, and Donnie tried but failed miserably to make a good meal in the kitchen, causing a mess in the process and making Mikey mad to a point where he would chase them out with a wooden spoon in hand.

"Yeah, and ya know-how on video games and comics have saved us a few times before! We're proud of ya for dat cos it's somethin' only _you_ could do in keepin' our family safe!" Raph added in agreement.

"Y-You guys...rarely say that you're…proud of me…" Mikey said with a stunned and watery look when he heard the words 'we're proud of you' from Raph who hardly ever says that to him.

"Yeah, well…dat's gonna change, bro, cos we should've told ya dat more often…" Raph replied bashfully as he knelt to Mikey's level and wiped a falling tear from his cheek with a warm smirk.

"You're right, Raph…" Leo said with a nod in agreement to Raph's words before he looked at Mikey and spoke again.

"Listen, Mikey; you gotta remember that you are your own person…you control your destiny…not us, not April and Casey, not Master Splinter…but in order for you to do that, you need to learn to stay strong and to be able to take the heat when it hits you, no matter how hot it gets…so that we can move forward and be a family of fighters again…"

"E-Even after everything that I've done to you all…You still want me back…?" Mikey questioned with a small fragment of doubt still clinging on to his heart.

"Course we want ya back, bro…! Dis family ain't da same without ya!" Raph answered immediately as he sat next to Mikey's other side, wrapped an arm around his back, and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"Right! And you haven't done anything wrong to us, Mikey, because what happened to us and Master Splinter was _never _your fault, to begin with!" Leo said in agreement.

"I-I…I…!" Mikey said as he placed his head in his hands when he began to feel torn between believing his brothers and remaining in denial. Just as he was about to reply an answer, however;

_Ring, ring! Ring, ring! Ring, ring!_

The sound of a phone ringing was suddenly heard and it was coming from Leo's shell cell. Leo took it out of his belt and looked at the screen to see April's name on it. Curious, he answered her call.

"Hello?"

_"Leo! You need to get back to the lair, now!" _April replied in a hysteric tone.

"Why, April? What is it?" Leo questioned as soon as he sensed the panic in April's voice.

_"It's Donnie! The Shredder just appeared out of nowhere and he's chasing after him!" _April answered whilst trying not to have a stress attack.

Leo gasped and his eyes widened in shock after hearing this before he pulled himself together and spoke.

"Oh, Shell…Alright, we're our way, just sit tight!"

_"Ok, see you soon!" _April replied before Leo ended the call.

"Leo, what's goin' on!?" Raph questioned desperately when he noticed a sense of panic and worry in Leo's face.

"Donnie's in trouble! We need to get back to the lair, now!" Leo answered in an urgent, leader-like tone, causing Raph to look at him with wide eyes after hearing that.

"D-Donnie's what…!?" Mikey suddenly said in a worried tone before his body started to shake and his breathing became more rapid, meaning that he was on the verge of having a panic attack.

Seeing this, Leo and Raph immediately went over to him, with Raph supporting Mikey's body before he could collapse whilst Leo gently grabbed one of Mikey's hands with one of his own and placed it on his chest where his heart was beating.

"Mikey…Mikey, look at me…!" Leo said calmly to get Mikey's attention, which had worked because Mikey managed to look at and hear his oldest brother call out to him despite still feeling very shaky and scared before he heard Leo speak again.

"Take deep breaths, Mikey…synchronise your breathing with mine…nice and easy, ok?"

Mikey did what Leo told him to do and, after a minute went by, he closed his eyes and began to feel calmer and less panicked.

"There ya go, bro…Ya feelin' alright now?" Raph said softly as he gently squeezed Mikey's shoulders.

Mikey only nodded in response to Raph's question due to still concentrating on his breathing.

"Listen to me, Mikey; we need to get back to the lair, fast! Can you run?" Leo then asked in a serious but soft tone.

"Y-Yeah, I'll be fine!" Mikey answered with a nod after recollecting himself.

"Ok, let's hurry back!" Leo replied before he, Raph, and Mikey made a dash back to the lair.

/

_Earlier, on Donnie's side…_

Donnie was zooming through Cyberspace on his Code Runner vehicle after he detected a large cluster of Master Splinter's data bits far from his location.

On his way there, however, Donnie wasn't feeling as focused as he was earlier. In fact, his mind was full of mixed thoughts and emotions; one part of him was still annoyed and upset with Mikey for being in his personal space, but the other part of him felt that he might have been too hard on him and went too far with his outburst.

He then thought about the question that Mikey asked him before he ran away from the lair.

_'If I really am this useless, unreliable, and selfish screw-up that you've been describing me as…then why…why didn't you and the others leave me behind in that Shredder-filled dimension to die alone?'_

Hearing that question again in his head caused a small tightening sensation in his heart. Donnie couldn't think of an answer to it because he himself was unsure as to why he didn't leave Mikey behind in the Shredder-filled dimension alone. It was then that an old memory flashed before his eyes.

/

_Flashback…_

_It was winter in New York City, and one of the turtle tots, Mikey, had come down with a nasty cold after exploring in the freezing sewers for too long._

_The young turtle was in bed sniffling and coughing a lot whilst shivering despite the burning fever and the mountain of blankets covering him. _

_His older brothers were worried about him and always stayed by his side during his recovery, no matter how many times Master Splinter told them to leave him alone to rest and avoid catching the illness themselves. _

_Out of the three older brothers, Donnie was the only one who stayed up longer during the night to make sure that Mikey was comfortable as he slept. _

_One night, Mikey woke up from his sleep and saw Donnie watching over him despite showing signs that he was dozing off._

_"D-Donnie…?" Mikey called out in a raspy tone._

_"Huh? Mikey, what's wrong? Are you feeling bad again?" Donnie responded after snapping out of his dozed state._

_"N-No…I-I just…w-wanna ask you s-something…" Mikey answered with chattering teeth as he suddenly felt a chill down his shell-covered back._

_"Ok…Then, what is it?" Donnie then asked with a confused look._

_"E-Erm…W-Why aren't you asleep like W-Weo and W-Waphie are right n-now?" Mikey asked as he looked behind Donnie to see both Leo and Raph fast asleep whilst sitting on their chairs._

_"Well, because I wanna make sure that you're ok whilst you sleep…I am your big brother after all…!" Donnie answered with a slightly stunned look because he wondered why Mikey would ask him such a question._

_"B-But…I-I don't want you to get sick too…! Cough, cough…" Mikey countered back with tears developing in his eyes before he stifled a cough to avoid waking his other older brothers up._

_"Hey, don't worry about me…! It's natural for big brothers to look after their little brothers…" Donnie responded soothingly as he gently patted Mikey's back to help stop his coughing, which had worked as the youngest had started to settle down. _

_A moment later, Donnie had an idea and spoke to Mikey in a whisper to prevent his older brothers from hearing it._

_"Hey, Mikey…Do you wanna hear a secret?"_

_This piqued Mikey's interest and his face beamed with curiosity before he replied his answer._

_"Y-Yeah! W-What is it?" _

_"When you first fell ill, me, Leo, and Raph had decided to make a brotherly oath together…" Donnie explained._

_"A-An oath?" Mikey questioned with a raised eyebrow._

_"Yeah, we promised that we would always protect you from anything that might try to hurt you or worse…" Donnie answered with a small smile._

_"P-Pwotect me? B-But I always mess up and get you all into twouble! W-Why would you wanna keep me safe?" Mikey questioned with wide tear-filled eyes._

_"No, you don't, Mikey…It's ok to make mistakes because it helps you to learn to get better as a ninja, and we also made it our rule to never leave a turtle behind, no matter what happens!" Donnie countered back firmly but softly as he gave Mikey's shoulder a gentle squeeze._

_This surprised Mikey greatly, to a point where he sniffled and more tears developed and fell from his eyes._

_"Shhh…Don't cry, bro…we don't want you to get worse, do we?" Donnie comforted his baby brother as he gently patted his warm head._

_"Mm-Mm…" Mikey replied whilst slightly shaking his head._

_A moment after Mikey stopped crying, he let out a small yawn and began to fall asleep. Noticing this, Donnie smiled warmly and tucked Mikey in a bit more before he started rubbing his head gently to soothe him to sleep since he still needed it to get better._

_"Thanks, Donnie…You're the best big bwother ever…" Mikey whispered sleepily before he fell into a deep sleep seconds later._

_This stunned Donnie after hearing that, and his smile grew bigger and tears of happiness developed in his eye as a result. He then gave Mikey a kiss on his forehead before he laid his own head down onto the mattress as he began to feel sleepy himself._

_Seconds later, his eyes were closed as he drifted off to sleep whilst still wearing his smile._

_End of flashback…_

_/_

_Present..._

As soon as the memory ended, Donnie's determined face softened and a single tear fell from his eyes. He never thought of ever seeing it again, especially since they were only young tots at the time.

"Never leave a turtle brother behind…" He said to himself before letting out a sad sigh.

"Mikey…What am I doing? I guess I should-"

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Donnie was then snapped out of his sad funk when he heard the nav alerting him that he was closing in on the data bit cluster. After another 2 minutes of driving, he arrived at the location and saw, in awe, the big cluster of Master Splinter's data bits in front of him.

"Father…" Donnie whispered as he continued to sadly look at the data bit cluster before he got his cyber device out and activated the download app.

As he was about to start the download process, however, the cluster suddenly turned into a dark digital mass before it took shape into something that Donnie was not expecting to see again; it was the Cyber Shredder!

"What!? The Shredder!?" Donnie said in shock.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! It seems that you have not learned your lesson from our last encounter, turtle, because I have fooled you again…!" The Cyber Shredder said eerily before he began to walk closer to the armoured turtle.

"Shell…I can't believe that I let my guard down again! I gotta get out of here!" Donnie said to himself before he made a dash for his vehicle and drove away.

"You're not getting away from me this time, turtle!" The Cyber Shredder shouted out before he chased after him from behind.

/

_The Turtles' lair…_

Leo, Raph, and Mikey all made it back to the lair without any problems and they immediately headed over to the computer area, where they noticed April frantically looking at the computer screen with Casey trying to help her.

"April, Casey, we're back!" Leo called out, much to April and Casey's relief when they heard him and turned around to see the trio coming towards them.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here…! Donnie's still being chased by the Cyber Shredder!" April said first before she looked at Mikey and her eyes went wide when she saw the state of him. "Mikey, what happened to you!?"

"Worry about me later, April…It's Donnie who needs help right now!" Mikey replied firmly but softly.

"Mikey's right! Whereabouts in Cyberspace is he?" Leo asked in a serious tone.

"He's not far from the Cyber Shredder's base; he told me that a big cluster of Master Splinter's data bits were located near there, but it was another trick made by the Cyber Shredder who started chasing after him ever since!" April explained her answer in a calm manner despite the worry continuously building up in her heart.

"Well, let's get in there, kick da Shredder's metal butt, and save Donnie!" Raph shouted out as he punched his fist into his hand.

"Alright, I'll try and activate a cyber portal near his location, so that you can get to him faster!" April answered as she typed away at the computer to lock onto Donnie's location and then she activated a cyber portal.

"Ok, thanks, April…!" Leo said gratefully before he looked over at Mikey, who was looking a bit unsure and anxious at the same time, so he walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder as he spoke again.

"Mikey, you stay here…we'll call you if we need you, ok?"

"O-Ok…" Mikey answered shakily, even though he was in a tug-of-war battle with himself on whether or not he should go with his brothers and prove to Donnie that he can be useful when he needs to be. This did not go unnoticed by Leo who spoke to him again.

"I know that you're feeling unsure of what you need to do right now, bro, but the answer will come to you when the time is right…"

"Yeah, it's gonna be ok, Mikey…!" Raph said in a supportive tone.

"G-Go and help Donnie, guys…I'll be alright…" Mikey said as he turned his face away from his brothers.

Knowing that there was nothing more they could say to Mikey at this moment in time, Leo and Raph just nodded with a hum before they made their way towards the cyber portal.

"Be careful, bros…" Mikey said quietly as he clutched his jacket where his chest is when the feelings of anxiety started to build up in his heart as he watched his brothers leave and vanish into Cyberspace.

/

_In Cyberspace…_

Leo and Raph appeared in Cyberspace and immediately changed into their Cybernaut armour before they activated their cyber vehicles and zoomed off to the location where Donnie was currently at.

"Over there!" Leo shouted out as he pointed where Donnie and the Cyber Shredder were located. He and Raph zoomed towards them at full speed ahead.

By the time Leo and Raph arrived at the scene, the Cyber Shredder had already knocked Donnie off of this vehicle and the purple-banded turtle was on his hands and knees trying to come around from his dazed state. However, the Cyber Shredder was not in the mood for waiting and was preparing himself to strike him with his gauntlet blades.

"Donnie!" Raph shouted out before he increased his speed and got out one of his Sais as he went for the attack on the Cyber Shredder.

"What!?" The Cyber Shredder shout in anger as he saw the vehicle after he heard it coming closer to him. His body then dissolved and moved out of the way just as Raph was about to joust him, and Donnie was surprised to see him when he saw the red-banded turtle get out of his vehicle and stand in front of him.

"Raph?" Donnie said his brother's name as he looked at him with wide eyes.

"Ya just couldn't wait until we got back, could ya?" Raph said with a glare since he was still a bit ticked off with Donnie's behaviour from earlier.

"Donnie, are you ok?" Leo was then heard as he caught up with Raph and stopped near Donnie to go and help him up.

"Leo? Y-Yeah, I'm fine…" Donnie answered with a stunned look on his face when he discovered that Leo was in Cyberspace too.

"We'll talk about dis later, cos we've gotta take down Shred head first!" Raph reminded his brothers before he turned his attention back to the Cyber Shredder, who was not looking too happy after seeing more of the turtles turning up to help Donnie.

"Do you really think you can defeat me!? Fools! You have forgotten that, in this world, nothing can stop the Shredder!" The Cyber Shredder said confidently.

"We'll see about dat, Shred head! Rrroooaaarrrr!" Raph shouted back heatedly before he charged forward to attack the Cyber Shredder again.

"Raph, wait!" Leo tried to stop Raph from doing something reckless, but it was too late as Raph was already getting closer to the Cyber Shredder with his Sais in hand.

When he reached him, Raph's weapons were instantly blocked by an extra bladed arm, which grew out of the Cyber Shredder's body unexpectedly, and then the Cyber Shredder grabbed Raph's arms and sent him flying with a lot of force. Raph was thrown about three miles away from both his brothers and the Cyber Shredder before he landed hard on the digital path, knocking him out instantly.

"No!" "Raph!" Leo and Donnie called out in horror before Leo angrily charged forward to attack the Cyber Shredder next.

The Cyber Shredder expected this and, without warning, he caught Leo off-guard by wrapping Leo with his extra arms, whacked him hard in the head, and sent him flying towards where Raph was laying.

"Leo!" Donnie called out before he saw the Cyber Shredder resume his walk towards him, causing the purple-banded turtle to look at him in terror.

"Now, no-one can save you from the Shredder! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!" The Cyber Shredder said in a dark tone as he readied his bladed gauntlets for the kill.

/

_Meanwhile, in the Computer room…_

Mikey, April, Casey, and Serling all watched in horror as Donnie was being cornered by the Cyber Shredder whilst Leo and Raph were out cold and too far away to stop him.

"That's it! I'm going in there!" Mikey said after seeing enough before heading towards the portal pad.

"No way, Mikey…!" Casey said firmly but with concern in his voice as he blocked Mikey's path.

"Yeah! It's too dangerous, especially when you're still recovering both physically and mentally…!" April said firmly but softly.

"But I can't just stand here and do nothing whilst the Shredder is in there and attempting to kill my brothers one-by-one!" Mikey countered with a stern look.

"Michelangelo…What you are thinking about doing is something that is extremely unwise…" Serling said worryingly, but Mikey was not backing down and he demonstrated this by speaking up again.

"I don't care what it takes! Whether or not Donnie wants me back as his brother and best friend doesn't matter right now…as long as he, Leo, and Raph are safe and alive, that's all I care about! Please, I can do this!"

April, Casey, and Serling looked at each other with worried looks, but they all knew that Mikey was right; like his brothers, he was the only one who has been in Cyberspace before and has more experience in fighting the Cyber Shredder than any of the three have.

"Alright, Mikey…I'll open a cyber portal up for you…just be careful, ok?" April said with a sigh before she walked over to the computer and activated a cyber portal for Mikey.

"I will…thank you, April…and you too, Casey…" Mikey replied as he looked from April to Casey with a grateful smile.

"Ah, don't worry about it…now, hurry up and get goin'!" Casey responded with a smirk before he signalled Mikey towards the cyber portal.

Mikey nodded and, with determination burning in his heart, he ran towards the portal and entered through it.

/

_Back in Cyberspace…_

Mikey instantly changed into his Cybernaut armour and activated his cyber vehicle as soon he was in Cyberspace before getting in it and zooming off to where his brothers were located.

From a far distance, Mikey found them but his eyes widened when he looked over at Donnie's side of the scene; Donnie was crawling on his hands and knees whilst trying to get through the cyber portal that he just activated, but the Cyber Shredder was right next to him with his bladed gauntlets ready to strike him. He also discovered that Leo and Raph had both regained consciousness but they were too far away to get to Donnie in time.

Seeing his brother in trouble, Mikey increased his vehicle's speed and zoomed towards his location. By the time he arrived, Mikey saw Donnie shielding his face with his arm as the Cyber Shredder was about to strike him with his bladed gauntlets.

Mikey then jumped out of his vehicle, got in front of the Cyber Shredder, and activated his shield to stop the attack from hitting Donnie.

_/_

_A moment later..._

When Donnie opened his eyes after noticing that he didn't get struck down, his eyes widened in surprise; in front of him was Mikey, who had his Cybernaut armour on and was standing in between him and the Cyber Shredder with his cyber shield blocking the attack. However, instead of feeling relieved to see him, Donnie was not a happy turtle in the slightest.

"Wha…Mikey!? What are you doing here!?" He said angrily with a scowl.

"Saving you! What does it look like!? Ngh!" Mikey answered firmly before he felt the Cyber Shredder attacking the shield.

"I don't need your help!" Donnie denied bitterly.

"_Yes_, you _do_!" Mikey countered back firmly.

"Huh? Mikey's…here? But what da shell is he doin'!?" Raph said with wide eyes.

"He's trying to get through to Donnie…whilst trying to keep the Shredder away from him at the same time!" Leo answered as he observed what was going on further away in front of them.

"Well, we gotta do somethin' ta help them or da Shredder's gonna take them both out!" Raph said firmly with worry that his two younger brothers are going to get hurt by the Cyber Shredder.

"I know, just give me a second to think!" Leo said with slight panic in his voice because he was unsure of what he and Raph should do to reach their brothers quickly.

Meanwhile, Mikey was still refusing to move and Donnie was starting to get annoyed with him because he was still not listening to him.

"Grr…Mikey, stop getting in my way! Drop your shield and go home!" Donnie shouted as he slowly walked closer to the youngest brother with anger building up inside him.

"No! Just go through that portal and get Master Splinter's data bits back home, now!" Mikey shouted back again with no signs of backing down whilst using all of his strength to keep his shield strong against the Cyber Shredder, who was constantly slashing at it to try and break it.

"Mikey, I won't tell you again; drop your shield and _go away_! I don't need you to-"

**"WILL YOU _STOP_ WHINING ALREADY!?"**

Donnie was suddenly cut off and taken aback by an angry-looking Mikey who had snapped because he was really getting very annoyed and fed up with Donnie's stubbornness and denial, whilst causing the shield to release a shock wave that had knocked the Cyber Shredder further away from the duo, stunning him in the process.

Leo and Raph also froze in shock and surprise when they saw and heard the way Mikey was speaking to Donnie, but the youngest turtle wasn't finished yet and he started talking again without giving the purple-banded turtle a chance to talk back.

"For once in your life, Donnie, just put your grudge towards me to one side for a second and _listen_ to me!"

"Whoa…Mikey's steamin' mad over there…" Raph said in awe at how Mikey was standing up against Donnie, with Leo nodding in agreement before they continued with making their way over to where their brothers were standing whilst they carried on listening to Mikey.

"Ever since we got back to our own time, you became obsessed with getting Master Splinter back, to a point where you didn't care about anything else, including your own health and relationship with your friends and family! I get that you despise me for what happened because I know that I'm not the brightest or serious one out of the four of us, but at least I tried my hardest to help with getting us all back home safe!"

"I don't care what happens to our friendship and relationship as brothers after this is done…you can tell me how much you hate me or how you don't need me anymore as many times as you want for the rest of our lives, but what I will _not_ do is just stand around and let my own brothers, especially you, get seriously hurt or worse by our enemies, including the Cyber Shredder!"

Donnie didn't know what to say at this point; whether to yell back at his brother or do something to calm him down. He was then snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Mikey speak again.

"I'm not doing this by being like you, or Leo, or Raph…I'm doing this as _me_! Cos I'm not like any of you…and that really hurts me because…I've always looked up to you guys whilst growing up, and that drove me into wanting to be just like you…But I can't do that cos I'm my own person, Donnie…and I am done with being labelled as the weakest link who can't do anything right for his family!"

"I'm so sorry that I haven't been the brother that you, Leo, and Raph needed me to be lately, but I'm here now…and I promise you that…from now on, I will _never_ let you down again!"

Donnie looked at his little brother, who was starting to tear up after saying that last sentence, and when he took a moment to let everything that his little brother said sink in, he thought back to the day when everything went downhill; their return home from the future.

He had felt nothing but anger and resentment towards his only little brother that day because even though he knew deep down that Viral was the one who turned their journey back from the future into a disastrous nightmare, he took everything out on what she did onto Mikey because she wasn't there to take her punishment. As a result of this, Mikey became severely depressed and began punishing himself for something that he would never do in his lifetime.

Looking back on it now, it had finally hit him, and it struck him hard. He never realised until now that his treatment towards Mikey had caused him to feel so low and unwanted that he thought his own life meant nothing to anyone and that it should have been erased permanently long ago just to make everyone happy.

Soon, Donnie's eyes began to fill with tears of guilt and regret before he started speaking to Mikey.

"M-Mikey…I…I had no idea…I-I…I only wanted to save our father and bring him back home…I-I wasn't trying to-"

"Donnie, stop…Don't blame yourself…It's fine…cos you were right about me from the start…I've been no help to you at all throughout any of our missions…or to any of you guys for that matter…" Mikey cut Donnie off in denial.

"No, you're wrong…I pushed you away…I pushed _everyone_ away…not because I was angry at you or I hated you…but because I was really scared that…I was going to lose more of my family in the process…" Donnie admitted in order to counter Mikey's words.

"Y-You'll never lose us, Donnie…We're a strong family…and you know…w-we were…really good friends back then…as well as brothers…" Mikey replied with tears now falling from his eyes whilst shaking his head.

"The best, right? I never realised…how much I missed you…until things turned out like this…" Donnie said as he thought about the good times where he and Mikey did things together as brothers as well as best friends.

"Y-Yeah…but do you still…want to be best friends with someone like me…?" Mikey said with an uncertain look on his face, but what he heard next from Donnie was something that he was not expecting to hear.

"…Of course, Mikey…You're my brother, and I love you…I just can't believe that it took me this long to realise that…I was so blind with anger that I caused you to feel so low and unwanted…I'm so sorry, little brother…"

Mikey said nothing, but instead, he smiled and let his own tears fall from his eyes; he never felt so happy to hear that kind of answer from Donnie, especially when he called him his 'little brother' again, despite everything that had happened between them.

However, what he didn't know was that, at the same time, he was losing his focus on the shield and it was slowly starting to fade. The Cyber Shredder soon noticed this and prepared himself to strike at the young turtle, which Leo spotted immediately by the time he and Raph had reached them.

"Mikey, watch out!"

But Leo's warning came too late; by the time Mikey turned around, the Cyber Shredder had already taken advantage of the distraction and struck him in the centre of his plastron with one of his bladed gauntlets.

"Ah!" Mikey was unable to scream or say anything as he gasped in shock and pain from the sudden impact of the Cyber Shredder's attack.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha…Foolish turtle…!" The Cyber Shredder said in a dark and eerie tone before he slowly pulled his blades out of Mikey's stomach, causing the young turtle to gasp and cry out in agony as he suddenly felt a rush of pain straight away.

"N-No…" Donnie stuttered as he could do nothing but stand and watch as Mikey fell onto the ground with a grunt and covered his wound in pain.

"No, Mikey!" "Hang on, bro!" Leo and Raph shouted out as they dashed towards their younger brothers.

"The weak one is down, and now it is _your_ turn!" The Cyber Shredder said eerily as he pointed his blood-covered blades at Donnie before he slowly started walking towards him.

As he looked back and forth from Mikey to the Cyber Shredder, Donnie was slowly becoming engulfed with rage, and it wasn't until a moment later that something had snapped inside of him.

"How…_dare_ you…HURT MY BROTHER!" Donnie shouted angrily before he charged forward with his cyber bo staff to attack the monster who harmed his little brother.

Leo and Raph saw this and they too charged forward to join in the fight and help their brother. After a minute of fighting, the Cyber Shredder began to realise that he was outnumbered and that the battle was starting to get tiresome, so he decided that it was time for him to retreat to fight another day.

"We are done here, for now…Until next time, turtles…! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!" That was the last thing that the Cyber Shredder said before he dissolved and vanished into the path-like digital current.

"Get back here, Shredder! We're not done!" Donnie shouted furiously and was about to go after him when he felt a hand on his shoulder, which belonged to Leo who spoke in an urgent tone.

"Donnie, no! Mikey's our top priority right now!"

Despite his feelings of anger and resentment against the Cyber Shredder, Donnie knew that Leo was right so he nodded and was about to make a move towards Mikey before he and Leo heard Raph speak in a desperate tone.

"Mikey? What are ya…?"

They looked over to see Mikey, who didn't answer his red-banded brother due to the amount of pain that he was in, standing up slowly whilst covering his wounded stomach with one hand. With adrenaline still flowing through his body, he slowly began his walk back towards the portal he entered from. Once he reached it, he went through it and returned to the lair without looking back.

"Come on, we gotta help him!" Raph then said anxiously as he ran towards the portal with Leo and Donnie quickly following him from behind.

/

_The turtles' lair…_

As soon as Mikey returned to the real world after exiting the cyber portal on his own, he took a few steps forward before he collapsed onto the floor and laid on his shell-covered back whilst trying to keep his hand on top of his wound to slow the bleeding down, but it was not working.

_'S-Shell…I-I guess…this is it…for me…' _Mikey thought to himself when he noticed that he was finding it hard to breathe and his vision was fading before he heard the sounds of running feet and familiar voices calling to him in a scared and urgent manner.

"Oh, my God…Mikey!" "Hang in there, man!"

It was April and Casey, who suddenly came into Mikey's field of vision, and were trying their best to help him in stopping the bleeding. Seconds later, Leo appeared at Mikey's side.

"Don't die on me, Mikey, hang on!" He begged his baby brother whilst helping April and Casey with the task of keeping him alive.

A moment after Leo appeared, Raph followed suit and went to Mikey's other side with tears in his eyes and spoke whilst holding his blood-soaked hand.

"I'm so sorry, bro…I-I should've jumped in and stopped dat monster, but…I wasn't fast enough!"

"N-No, R-Raphie…I-It wasn't…y-your fault…" Mikey replied breathlessly as he looked from Leo to Raph without moving his head before he coughed heavily and blood trickled down the side of his mouth.

"Leo, call Leatherhead! We need his help, now! April, get me the first aid kit! Raph, you and Casey get the infirmary ready with Serling, hurry!" Donnie's frantic voice was then heard before he came into Mikey's field of vision. After seeing the others reluctantly leave to do their tasks, Donnie placed his hand on Mikey's head as he spoke again.

"Stay with me, Mikey…please…it's not your time yet…! Just keeping holding on!"

"D-Donnie…I-I'm…s-sorry…f-for…e-every-thing…" Mikey managed to say to his immediate older brother whilst letting a single tear fall from each of his eyes because he felt that this might be the last time that he would speak to him and apologise for all the trouble he caused for him and for everyone else around him. His head then slowly tilted to one side as his eyes fluttered shut.

"Mikey!? MIKEY!"

That was the last thing that Mikey heard from his immediate older brother before everything went black, and then there was silence.


	16. Part 16-Brotherly Closure

Part 16-Brotherly Closure

_Unknown…_

"Brudders? Daddy? Where are you!?"

The soft and scared voice of a little 5-year-old Mikey echoed through the dark and damp sewer tunnels as he wandered around to try and find his family, but all he heard was the sounds of dripping water and squeaking rats from where he stood.

"W-Where is everyone? I don't wanna be alone!" Mikey then said tearfully as he curled himself up on the floor and shivered from the cold temperatures. Then, a few minutes later;

_"My son…"_

Mikey gasped as he heard the soft but clear voice of his sensei and father figure echo through the same tunnel that he was in right now. He got up from his curled up position and looked around desperately to try and figure out where his father was until he spotted a faint figure standing in the shadows, and it wasn't until that figure moved forward and revealed himself that the young turtle recognised him as Master Splinter!

"Daddy!" Mikey cried out as he ran towards Master Splinter and hugged him with tears in his eyes.

"It is alright, Michelangelo…you are safe now…" Master Splinter said in a soothing tone as he comforted the young turtle in his arms.

"Why are you all alone in the sewers, my son?" He then asked in confusion.

"I don't know…was with my brudders, but they disappeared…d-did they weave me…cos they no wove me no more!?" Mikey questioned with wide and tearful eyes.

"No, Michelangelo…your brothers love and care about you very much…in fact, they have returned to the lair to inform me that they lost you during your walk in the sewers…" Master Splinter answered reassuringly to his son.

"W-Weally…?" Mikey questioned with wide eyes.

"Yes, my son…You may not be on the same level as your brothers in terms of your learning, but each of you have interests and personalities that make you unique from one another…" Master Splinter answered with a warm smile.

"What you mean, daddy?" Mikey asked with confusion shown in his face.

"You and your brothers are like Nature's four elements;

\- Your oldest brother Leonardo is water; his calm and courageous spirit continues to flow strongly, no matter how many times he has been knocked down in battle whilst protecting his family…

\- Your second brother Raphael is fire; his loyalty to our family and powerful desire to fight for his loved ones burns strongly in terms of protecting them…

\- Your third brother Donatello is the wind; his level-headedness and love for knowledge keep our family going in the right direction as well as providing us a better chance of winning during battle through strategy…

\- And finally, Michelangelo, you are the earth; your energetic and light-filled personality helps in keeping your brothers grounded and give them the inspiration they need to create new ideas, as well as giving them the motivation to continue fighting…"

Mikey looked at his father in awe with wide eyes as he defined his brothers as the four elements of nature before he heard his father speak again.

"Do you understand now, my son? You and your brothers are all important in this family, and if one of those elements were to be taken away from us, we would become imbalanced…"

After letting all of his father's words sink in, Mikey nodded in understanding, causing the old sensei to smile warmly before he spoke once more.

"Good…Now, let us make our way back to the lair…Your brothers must be very worried about you by now…"

Mikey nodded again before he and Master Splinter started their walk back to their lair where Mikey's brothers were anxiously waiting for them both.

"Erm, Daddy?" Mikey suddenly said after a few minutes of walking.

"Yes, my son?" Master Splinter asked before he was suddenly engulfed into a hug by his youngest son.

"Thank you…and I wove you…" He heard him say before he returned the hug and replied back with a warm smile.

"And I love you too, my son…Never forget that…"

Mikey nodded whilst in his father's arms before they both released each other from the hug and resumed their walk back towards the lair.

It was then that Mikey saw a bright light suddenly flash right in front of him before everything disappeared…

_/_

_The turtles' lair (Present time) …_

It was quiet. Too quiet to everyone's liking.

The only thing that didn't make it 100% silent in the infirmary was the sound of a beeping heart monitor, which was connected to an unconscious Mikey who was lying still as stone on the hospital bed.

And it was also the only sign that told everyone that the youngest turtle was still alive after the events from 12 hours earlier…

/

_Flashback…_

_"Quick, bring him onto the bed!" Donnie demanded firmly as he prepared the bed and equipment._

_Leo and Raph carefully but quickly placed Mikey onto the bed before Leo checked his pulse. A minute later, his eyes widened and looked at Donnie as he spoke._

_"Donnie, his pulse is getting weaker!"_

_"Put him on oxygen, hurry!" Donnie instructed his oldest brother whilst he laid out the surgical equipment in the correct order._

_"April, get an empty blood bag and prepare Raph to give Mikey a blood transfusion!" He then instructed his female human friend without looking at her._

_"On it! Raph-" _

_"I heard him! Hurry up and get me hooked up!" Raph cut April off since he already knew what he needed to do to help save Mikey before he went with her to start transferring his blood into the bag._

_"Is Leatherhead here yet?" Donnie said next as he started placing the surgical sheet on top of Mikey._

_"My friends!" The loud but familiar voice of their big reptile friend echoed through the lair as he quickly entered through the lair entrance._

_"Over here, Leatherhead! Donnie's waitin' fa ya!" Casey shouted and waved the big reptile over to where he was standing, which was the entrance to the infirmary. _

_As soon as Leatherhead entered the infirmary, he froze in shock and horror when he saw the state that Mikey was in._

_"Michelangelo! What happened to him!?" He questioned in a desperate tone._

_"We'll tell you everything later, __Leatherhead,__ but right now I need your help! We've got to operate and close his wounds before he bleeds to death!" Donnie answered in an urgent tone._

_Leatherhead nodded in understanding before he joined Donnie and April in trying to stop the bleeding in Mikey's wounds and stitch them up at the same time, whilst Leo and the others did their best to keep Mikey stable by giving him oxygen and providing him with IV fluids and more blood to replace that of which he had already lost._

_Then, suddenly;_

_Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!_

_"Oh, no…! He's going critical!" Donnie shouted out when he looked at Mikey's vitals._

_"We must act quickly or-"_

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-!_

_Before Leatherhead could finish his sentence, everyone heard the sound that they all dreaded and hoped to never hear in their lives._

_"NO, Mikey!" Leo cried out in horror._

_"The defibrillator, quick!" Donnie shouted out as he pointed at the location of the defibrillator, which was placed on a table near everyone._

_Leo was the first to see it and he quickly ran towards it, grabbed it, and hurried back over to the bed to pass the device over to Donnie who immediately turned it on and waited for it to charge._

_"Stand back, everyone!" Donnie alerted the others, who all stood away from the bed like they were told to, before he heard the device beeped to say that it was ready to use._

_"Clear!" Donnie shouted as he placed the pads on Mikey's chest and activated the device, causing Mikey's body to jolt for a moment before lying still again with no response coming from the young turtle._

_"Charging!" The device said as it recharged its energy for another shock._

_"Come on, Mikey! Don't leave us…we're sorry…_I'm_ sorry…for what happened to you…!" Donnie pleaded as tears developed and fell from his eyes._

_"Clear!" He then shouted as he repeated the procedure, but was again met with a still Mikey._

_"Please, Mike, we need ya…! And ya have so much ta live for!" Raph then joined in whilst hoping to reach out to Mikey._

_"Charging!"_

_"I don't want to tell father that you died because of us! Please, come back to us!" Leo begged with tears streaming down his face._

_"CLEAR!"_

_"MIKEY!" Everyone cried out the youngest's name in the hopes of him hearing them._

_Then, a moment later;_

_Beeeeeep-Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

_The sound of steady beeping was heard coming from the heart monitor, which Donnie checked to make sure that he wasn't imagining it._

_"Donnie!?" Leo shouted the purple-banded turtle's name when he heard nothing from him._

_"Oh, my-…he's back! Mikey's back!" Donnie suddenly announced as he looked at the others with a watery smile and tears of relief developing in his eyes._

_"Yes! Atta boy, Mikey!" Raph cheered whilst raising his fist in the air whilst the others cheered in relief and joy._

_"Do not celebrate yet…! Hurry, we need to intubate him to keep him breathing whilst we operate on him!" Leatherhead said firmly._

_Everyone nodded and immediately went to work on getting Mikey stable enough for Donnie and Leatherhead to start the operation that would save the young turtle's life._

_End of Flashback…_

_/_

_Present…_

After Mikey's wounds were finally treated and his vitals were stabilised, everyone decided to stay by the young turtle's bedside, so that they could there for him for when he wakes up whilst also keeping an eye on him at the same time. During that time, nobody had spoken a single word to one another. They couldn't blame each other for doing that, though, because they were still letting everything that had happened in that intense memory sink into their minds.

Donnie, on the other hand, was affected by this more than everyone else. He was quietly looking through the album that Mikey had made and his mind was just overloaded with different emotions.

The old and new photos that he was looking at had brought a lot of memories back to the purple-banded turtle, and he just couldn't believe that Mikey had kept this a secret from him and the others for so long, though he had a feeling as to why he would do that.

"What have I done…" He said quietly and miserably to himself as he placed a hand over one of the pictures, which featured his brothers huddled together and smiling at the camera before he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder before he heard Leo's voice talking to him.

"Donnie, if you're thinking about blaming yourself for all of this-"

"Don't, Leo…! I know what you're going to say, but there's no point in denying it…Mikey almost died because of me and my stupid desperation to get Master Splinter back!" By the time Donnie finished speaking after cutting off his oldest brother, tears began to develop and fall from his eyes.

"Look, Brainiac, I know dat ya didn't think twice about what might've happened ta ya if ya went in Cyberspace alone…and I'm still kinda ticked off at ya fa doin' dat, but I don't blame ya fa what happened ta Mikey…! He ran inta Cyberspace ta help us cos we're his bros!" Raph suddenly said firmly but softly after hearing Donnie feeling sorry for himself.

"Raph's right, Donnie…Mikey risked his life because he loves us, no matter what was thrown at him!" Leo said in agreement as he gave Donnie's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Donnie looked at his older brothers in astonishment because he never expected an answer like that from the pair of them. Just as he was about to respond to that, however;

"D-D-ad-dy…"

He and the others jumped in surprise when they heard a faint voice coming from the sleeping turtle.

"Mikey?" Leo was the first to speak his brother's name before he and the others got closer to the bed to see Mikey moving his head slowly from side to side with twitching eyes. Donnie, however, kept his distance for now due to his concerns that Mikey might not want to see him when he wakes up.

"Mikey, it's ok, I'm here…it's me, Leo…" Leo said soothingly as he held one of Mikey's hands in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"C'mon, bro…Rise and shine…!" Raph said encouragingly as he held Mikey's other hand with his own.

A moment later, everyone watched as Mikey's tired eyes slowly opened up and saw Leo's face first.

"L-Leo…?" He whispered sleepily.

"Mikey…Oh, my little brother…" Leo said as he immediately gave Mikey's upper body a gentle hug and leaned his head against Mikey's, surprising the young turtle slightly. "We thought we were going to lose you…"

"W-Where…am I…?" Mikey asked in a raspy tone due to how weak he was feeling.

"We're in the infirmary…in our lair…" Leo answered whilst trying but failing to wipe his tears away from his face.

"D-Don't cry…bro…" Mikey said shakily as he weakly squeezed Leo's hand to reassure him that he was ok.

"They're tears of joy, Mikey…I'm so happy that you're alive and with us still…" Leo explained with a watery smile.

Mikey slightly nodded in understanding before he suddenly remembered what happened back in Cyberspace.

"T-The data bits...and Donnie…are they-Ngh! Argh!" He was then cut off after being hit by the intense pain he suddenly felt in his stomach area.

"Whoa, hey! Easy, Mikey…! You're badly hurt!" Raph said as he placed a hand on Mikey's chest to stop him from getting up.

"R-Raph? B-But..." By now, Mikey was starting to get panicky.

"The data bits were fake, Mikey; the Cyber Shredder tricked Donnie after baiting him with a fake cluster of Master Splinter's data bits…and Donnie is fine and unharmed, thanks to you…so, just relax…" April confirmed in a firm but soft tone.

After hearing this, Mikey calmed himself down whilst breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank shell…"

"We were worried dat ya wouldn't make it after ya passed out on us back at da computer room cos of how bad yer wounds were, bro…!" Raph said whilst trying to keep himself together.

"I-I don't care about that…! All that matters is that you guys and Splinter's data bits are safe!" Mikey said in denial whilst weakly shaking his head.

"But we _do_ care, Mikey…! "

The firm voice of his immediate older brother was heard before Mikey saw him come into view with an annoyed but scared look on his face.

"D-Donnie?" Mikey said in surprise.

"We were so scared when you didn't respond to us during your life-saving treatment…we all thought that you had left us because of how bad it was…but you didn't, and we really don't want you to leave us, Mikey…!" Donnie then said firmly but softly.

"Donnie rarely left your side during and after your life-saving surgery…" Leo explained with a sad smile.

"W-Wha…? Why?" Mikey questioned in disbelief after hearing that Donnie, who stated that he wanted nothing to do with his little brother anymore, had remained by his side whilst he was fighting to stay alive after the fatal blow by the Cyber Shredder.

"Why? Because we're brothers and you needed me, Mikey…and I needed you too…W-When your heart stopped before we started the surgery…I just…" Donnie answered firmly before he looked away with tears developing in his eyes again as he couldn't finish the last part, leaving Mikey with a shocked expression when he heard the last part.

"That's right…"

Another familiar voice was then heard before Mikey saw Leatherhead appear on his left side of the bed and looking at him with a sad but warm smile when he saw Mikey awake again.

"L-Leatherhead?" Mikey said in surprise before he watched the big reptile nod as he began his explanation of what happened hours ago.

"A few minutes before the operation started, your heart suddenly stopped because of the strain that it was in from keeping your wounded body alive for so long…Donatello was able to restart your heart, but…we were all concerned about the internal damage that the loss of blood flow might have done to your organs, especially to your brain…"

This made Mikey's heart skip a beat; the young turtle couldn't believe that he had lost his life for a short while by the time the others were prepared to treat his wounds. Realising this, his eyes dulled a bit more and looked down before he spoke in a sad tone.

"Shell…T-Then, it's true…I-I really am weak…"

"What!? No, ya not!" Raph countered back loudly, startling everyone in the process.

"Yeah, Mikey…! Seeing you awake and talking to us just proves that you're a strong and tough turtle who defied those odds!" Leo said firmly but softly as he placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"We're really proud of you, Mikey…! _I'm_ proud of you…" Donnie said with a watery but warm smile before he noticed that Mikey was looking both sad and confused at the same time. "What's wrong, Mikey?"

"I-I…I thought you'd still be mad at me, Donnie…" Mikey answered nervously whilst avoiding eye contact with his immediate older brother.

"What? Why would I be-...Ohhh…You're talking about what happened between us back in Cyberspace, aren't you?" Donnie questioned when he realised what Mikey was talking about; the confrontation between his little brother and himself whilst the young turtle was protecting him from the Cyber Shredder.

"Mm…I-I was scared that…even if I made it out alive after saving you, you'd still see me as…a screwed-up burden that just wastes more of your time with saving Splinter…" Mikey answered whilst trying to hold back a sob despite the tears falling down his face.

Donnie felt like he had been stabbed hard in the chest. Hearing his own cruel words come out of Mikey's mouth instantly made him feel guilty and regretful, so he got closer to Mikey's bed, sat on the edge of the mattress, and gently wrapped his arms around the youngest's upper body whilst trying to avoid his wounded plastron.

"Oh, Mikey…I didn't mean to make you feel like that…I lost control of what I was really feeling, to a point where I took all my anger out on you, instead of our enemies! In other words; I was in denial…and yet, you still jumped into Cyberspace to save me despite all the bad things I did to you…What made you do that, bro?" He said sadly.

"I went into Cyberspace because…I just wanted so badly to prove to you all that I was more than what you thought I was, but you were right! All of you were!" Mikey sobbed whilst burying his face deeper into Donnie's shoulder.

"No, Mikey…no…you _are_ more than what we thought you were…we just never took any notice of it…we were so oblivious…" Donnie replied guiltily as he slightly tightened the hug whilst minding his brother's injuries.

"Donnie…I-I'm so sorry…!" Mikey choked out as he sobbed even more.

"Shhh…Don't be…I'm the one who should be apologising to you and begging you for forgiveness…I was so cruel towards you and caused you to end up like this…" Donnie said softly whilst gently rubbing his baby brother's head.

"It wasn't just you, Donnie…Raph and I were also at fault for treating Mikey so cruelly…Again, I'm really sorry, Mikey…" Leo said sadly before he wrapped his arms around Mikey and Donnie and gave them a hug too.

"Yeah, me too…We were supposed ta protect him from harm after makin' our oath as brothers years ago, but we didn't protect him from _us_…He's like dis cos of _us_…" Raph stated with tears of guilt developing in his eyes after saying the last part before he placed a hand on the top of Mikey's head and rubbed it affectionately.

April, Casey, and Leatherhead watched in sympathy as this happened because they all knew that the older turtle brothers had finally understood the consequences to their actions, though they never thought that it had to take an almost tragic incident to make them realise that. They also noticed that Mikey was addressing Master Splinter as just Splinter, making them both confused and worried at the same time.

"Mikey, why did you address Master Splinter as just Splinter a minute ago? You rarely say his name in that way…" April asked gently after Leo and Donnie release the youngest from the hug.

The young turtle's eyes widened when he discovered that April noticed what he had just said, but part of him didn't care because he still strongly believed that Master Splinter deserved better than to have his youngest son be his downfall. Sensing that everyone wanted an answer to April's question from him, Mikey sighed and spoke with more tears developing in his eyes.

"D-Don't get me wrong…I love and care about Master Splinter…and I would do anything for him…but I still don't deserve an amazing dad and teacher like him… Nothing I ever did was right for him, and I almost had him killed more than once because of who I am…Now, he's in Cyberspace as data bits because of _me_!"

"Oh, fa shell's sake, Mikey! How many times da we have ta tell ya dat what ya sayin' ain't true!?" Raph said firmly.

"Master Splinter saved you because he loved you, he still does! In fact, he told me during our one-to-one sessions that you are the only one who can make us all smile even through the hardest of times…" Leo then said firmly but softly as he gave Mikey's hand a squeeze.

"W-What?" Mikey said as he looked up at his oldest brother in shock after hearing that.

"He explained to me that you are the light of our family, bro…because you help keep us fighting by making sure that we are eating well, had breaks from our busy routines, and would make us laugh with your funny moves and jokes! He also said that no matter how many times he would tell you to be more mature, he never wanted you to change who you are now!" Leo explained slowly.

"W-Why didn't he tell me any of this…?" Mikey asked in shock and slight annoyance after finding out that all of this was being kept from him by his own father and sensei.

"You know what Master Splinter is like by now, Mikey; he wanted _you_ to find that out for yourself first before he could tell you himself…!" Leo answered with a sad smile.

Mikey didn't argue against that, because Leo was right; Master Splinter had taught his sons that in order for them to know what their true roles are in the family and what they are truly capable of as ninjas, they had to figure it out for themselves first before he would tell them himself through guidance.

"Hey, ya know da positive side ta Mikey not listenin' ta your orders earlier, Donnie?" Raph then questioned after a moment of silence.

"What?" Donnie said with slight annoyance in his voice when he heard that sentence.

"We got to see Mikey's fierce side for a change!" Leo answered Raph's question with a proud and teasing smile.

"Huh?" Mikey said with widened eyes.

"You were really amazing when you stood up for yourself and refused to back down from Donnie after he told you to go back to the real world!" Leo said with his voice full of praise towards his youngest brother.

"I gotta hand it ta ya, bro…ya had da guts ta stand against Donnie's orders whilst stoppin' da Shredder at da same time…and here I thought _I_ was da stubborn one…!" Raph said with a smirk.

"You still are, Raph…" Donnie replied with a cheeky smile.

"Hey!" Raph yelled back with a glare whilst the others chuckled and laughed at the scene, but Mikey winced and yelped when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach area.

"Mikey!?" Leo said worryingly when he noticed Mikey's pained look first.

"I-I'm ok…I-It just hurts…" Mikey managed to say through gritted teeth as he tried but failed to get into a more comfortable position to relieve the pain.

"The pain relief must be wearing off. Leatherhead, can you administer another dose of it in his IV bag, please?" Donnie said to Leatherhead, who nodded and immediately went off to get the medicine.

"It's alright, Mikey…just breath slowly, and relax your body…" Leo instructed Mikey in a soft tone whilst he soothingly rubbed his brother's head and hand to comfort and support him.

Mikey did what Leo instructed him to do and took slow deep breaths until the painkiller eventually worked its magic after Leatherhead administered it into his IV bag. A couple of minutes later, Mikey began to feel a lot better and relaxed a bit more on his bed.

"There…You feeling better now, Mikey?" Leo asked anxiously but he maintained his calmness.

"Yeah…" Mikey breathed out, feeling less in pain after the medication kicked in.

"That was a little too much excitement to have all at once after waking up from a long sleep, my friend…" Leatherhead said as he shook his head.

"I think we should leave Mikey to rest a little more…" April suggested after seeing how tired Mikey still looked.

Nobody said anything against that proposal, and instead just nodded in agreement before they made their way towards the door after Leo tucked Mikey in and he and Raph wished him a peaceful sleep. Before leaving the infirmary, however, Leo noticed that Donnie was still sitting next to the bed whilst watching the young turtle.

"Donnie, are you coming?" Leo questioned quietly to avoid disturbing Mikey.

"I'll be right there, Leo…I'm just going to stay with Mikey for a little bit longer…" Donnie answered without taking his eyes off of Mikey.

Leo understood his reasons and left the infirmary to give him some time alone with Mikey. Now with nobody around, Donnie put a hand on Mikey's shoulder and gently shook it as he spoke in a soft whisper.

"Mikey, you still awake?"

"Mmm…D-Donnie…?" Mikey said sleepily as he looked at his immediate older brother with half-opened eyes.

"Mikey, listen…I-I…I'm really…truly, sorry…for everything that I did to you…I can never take back the things that I said to you in the past, but I will try and make it to you in the present, somehow…" Donnie said whilst trying to make sure that he wouldn't break down in front of Mikey.

"S'not your fault…" Mikey replied tiredly, shocking Donnie in the process.

"Then, who's fault is it if it's not mine?" Donnie asked firmly with denial in his heart.

"V-Viral's…remember?" Mikey answered sadly.

Donnie took a moment to let what Mikey just said sink in before he sighed when he finally accepted the truth after spending so long in denial.

"You're right…All this time, I thought that I was the one who caused our father to get scattered and lost in Cyberspace…but it wasn't me, it was _her_…and yet, I placed all the blame on you because I was so angry at what happened…You know what, Mikey; I'm the worst brother ever…" He said miserably and angrily.

"N-No, you're not…" Mikey said with a weak shake of his head, surprising Donnie.

"How can you say that after everything I've done to you!?" The purple-banded turtle questioned in astonishment.

"W-Well…remember that secret you told me…years ago when we were little…and I was sick with a cold…?" Mikey said whilst trying his best not to doze off.

"Yeah, the one where I told you about our oath…" Donnie answered in realisation after he suddenly remembered the memory flashback he had whilst he was in Cyberspace.

"Mmm…You said that no turtle gets left behind, no matter what happens…I-I know that…your oath was meant to keep me safe…but whilst we were growing up…there were times where I wanted to protect _you guys_ as well someday…" Mikey explained before taking a moment to catch his breath since his body was still weak from his near-death experience.

"So, is that why you jumped in front of me to stop the Shredder's attack back in Cyberspace...because you wanted to protect me as well as keep me safe…?" Donnie asked curiously.

"Y-Yeah…I-I wanted to…w-well…n-not just protect you, but…" Mikey stuttered as he suddenly started to feel emotional whilst trying to complete his answer, but Donnie already had a feeling of what Mikey was trying to say.

"You felt that you needed to atone for everything that's happened to us and Master Splinter during our travel back to our own time…"

Mikey was stunned for a moment before he nodded and closed his eyes when he let out a small sob as he spoke again.

"I-I…I should've done more! I don't know why everything went wrong, but I just…I couldn't stop her…I couldn't protect you guys or Master Splinter! E-Ever since that day...I kept reliving it in my nightmares…I-It was like…I was being punished…every night for what I did…I wanted it to stop…even if it meant taking my own life…I-I just wanted those nightmares to go away!"

Donnie was both shocked and gobsmacked after hearing that; he never knew how badly Mikey was emotionally affected by Viral's actions towards him and his family, but how could he have known? He was too busy trying to rescue Master Splinter and blaming everything on his baby brother to even take any notice of it. This caused tears to develop in his eyes as the feelings of sorrow and regret built up inside his heart.

"Oh, Mikey…" He said as his own tears fell from his eyes before he sat on the edge of the bed and gently engulfed Mikey's upper body into another hug whilst being careful of his injuries. Seconds after doing that, Donnie felt and heard Mikey cry into his shoulder.

"Shhh…It's ok, baby bro…You'll never have to suffer from those nightmares ever again…because we're all here for you now…_I'm_ here for you…" He then said as he gently rocked his baby brother to try and settle him down before his condition got worse.

Luckily, Mikey was beginning to calm down after a full minute of crying, and it was then that Donnie thought back to when Mikey asked him why he didn't leave him behind in the Shredder-filled dimension alone. He slowly released Mikey from the hug and looked at him as he spoke.

"Hey…Remember when you asked me why we didn't leave you behind in the Shredder-filled dimension to die alone if I thought that you were what I said to you back then?"

Mikey nodded sadly but didn't say anything, so Donnie continued to speak and give his answer to that question.

"Well, it's because we're brothers and a family…not matter what any of us do to each other!"

"I-I really need to be more proper, though…" Mikey said as his eyes slightly dulled again.

"No, Mikey…you're perfect as you are before all of this happened…We were the ones who were selfish and wanted you to be something that you're not…! Also, I should have listened to you when you tried to help me back then…but, once again, I was blinded by anger and desperation…" Donnie countered immediately before he looked down whilst letting out a sad sigh as he spoke again.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness or kindness…I was such a cruel jerk to you and to everyone else…"

"Y-You weren't you, bro…when I first saw you like that…I-I thought that I lost my big brother…and best friend…I already forgave you after you yelled at me back in Cyberspace..." Mikey replied with a sad smile, stunning Donnie after hearing that last part.

"Well, it's thanks to you that I'm myself again…and I will never let that happen again…that's a promise!" Donnie said with the look of happiness and determination showing on his face.

Mikey smiled even more after hearing that before he let out a small yawn as his tiredness had started to take over him again, which Donnie noticed before he tucked his little brother in as he spoke in a soft tone.

"Get some more sleep, Mikey…you really need it to fully recover from your wounds…"

"M'kay…a-and Donnie…?" Mikey said sleepily.

"Yeah?" Donnie said curiously and with concern in his voice due to the feeling that Mikey might not be feeling well again.

"Thanks…You really are…the best big brother ever…" Mikey said in a whisper, which was loud enough for Donnie to hear, before slowly closing his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Those words made Donnie's heart swell up with happiness and pride, and his eyes also began to fill with tears of joy. He couldn't believe that he was hearing the same exact words that Mikey told him back when they were turtle tots. Instead of speaking his reply, Donnie leaned forward to give Mikey a soft kiss on his forehead, which caused the youngest to produce a small smile on his face, but he didn't wake up.

Knowing that Mikey was going to be ok, Donnie did one more check on Mikey's vitals before he walked quietly towards the doorway and left the infirmary altogether to let his baby brother sleep without being disturbed.


	17. Epilogue-Together Again

Epilogue-Together again

_2 months later…_

A lot of time had passed since Mikey's near-death experience and the reconnection between Mikey and Donnie, and things had soon begun to get even better from that day.

Donnie decided to create a schedule that would maintain a stable balance between finding Master Splinter's data bits and looking after Mikey, and he also allowed his brothers and human friends to share the responsibility of saving Master Splinter with him, much to everyone's relief. The purple-banded turtle did this because he wanted to spend more time with his immediate younger brother since he owed him for saving his life from the Cyber Shredder.

Mikey was slowly recovering as each day came; the slash wounds on his arms were now fully healed and were only visible as scars that reminded everyone of his emotional struggle, and his internal wounds were also healing nicely whilst his plastron was steadily doing the same despite the fact that it would take a few more months for it to heal completely. There was, however, a small setback when he had contracted an infection that led him to becoming feverish and unable to eat, but Donnie and Leatherhead were able to eradicate the infection with the necessary antibiotics after they spotted it early.

Ever since then, everyone took turns with looking after him and keeping him company whenever he was awake and needed someone to talk to. Even though Mikey was comfortable during his recovery, the wounds on his plastron were now at a stage where they were causing an itch-like irritation to the young turtle who fought hard to resist the urge to scratch them. Luckily, April had found a herbal ointment that would ease the itchy feeling down, and she gave it to Donnie who applied it onto Mikey's plastron twice a day to keep the youngest from scratching his wounds, otherwise he would threaten him with having his hands covered up by oven mitts if he did.

It was during that timeframe that the turtle brothers were hit with a big surprise; Casey had proposed to April and have started planning for their wedding day, which they agreed to have the day after Master Splinter's return.

Speaking of which, Donnie was currently on the lair's main computer assessing all the data bits, which he and the others were finally able to collect, on the screen in the form of a full-bodied Master Splinter. Donnie's face had a smile painted on it instead of a stressed-out frown, meaning that it was finally time for Master Splinter to come back home from Cyberspace!

"Hey, Donnie…Is everything alright?" The voice of his oldest brother, Leo, was suddenly heard from behind him, making him turn around to see the blue-banded turtle walking over to him, with Raph walking next to him, whilst wearing a concerned look on his face since he noticed that the purple-banded turtle was looking at the computer for a long time without saying anything.

"Yeah, Leo…! Everything is ready for Master Splinter to come back from Cyberspace!" Donnie answered with a nod, surprising Leo and Raph.

"Really!? That's fantastic news!" Leo replied excitedly.

"Yeah, Mikey's gonna be so happy when we tell him about dis!" Raph said in agreement.

"You're right, Raph…! Leo, can you please go and check if Mikey is awake, and to let him know about Master Splinter's return? I'll come and join you once I've made sure that the preparations are in order…" Donnie asked Leo.

"Sure thing, Don…I was planning on seeing him after checking up on you, anyway…" Leo answered before he made his way towards Mikey's room, but not without grabbing something from his own room first.

/

_Mikey's room…_

Leo carefully opened Mikey's room door, which was left slightly ajar in case Mikey needed to call his brothers for anything, and he quietly walked inside to avoid waking up his little brother, who he noticed was starting to wake up in his bed with Klunk curled up next to him.

As Mikey's condition improved, Donnie and his brothers agreed in a discussion with Leatherhead that Mikey could spend the rest of his recovery in his room since he would feel more comfortable in his personal space than in the infirmary. Not long after returning to his room, Mikey decided to have his personal items returned back to their original places before they were stored away in boxes, with the help of his brothers.

April and Casey also surprised Mikey with a brand new jacket as a get-well present, which was placed over Mikey's blanket as he slept.

"Good morning, Mikey…" Leo said softly as he got closer to the bed.

"Morning, Leo…" Mikey replied with a yawn as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes whilst carefully sitting himself up.

"How are you doing today? Did you sleep well?" Leo asked as he sat on the edge of the mattress.

"Yeah…The ointment that April gave us really helped with stopping the itch…" Mikey answered as he lightly rubbed his bandaged plastron.

"That's good to hear…I was worried that Donnie might have to tie those oven mitts on your hands to make you stop itching your plastron if you didn't…!" Leo replied with a chuckle, causing Mikey to laugh a little too.

"So, is everything ok out there? I heard loud voices…" Mikey asked after a moment of silence.

"Everything's more than ok, Mikey…! Donnie has just announced that we're going to bring Master Splinter back from Cyberspace today!" Leo answered with excitement in his voice, surprising Mikey.

"R-Really!?" The young turtle said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, and that's why I came in to see you; to tell you that father is coming back home…and to also bring you to the computer area to see it happen!" Leo replied with a nod before his face changed from happy to serious and spoke again.

"Before we go, though…I, err…thought I should give you this back…"

Leo lifted one of his hands up to reveal the box that Mikey used to store his mask away, and he lifted the lid to reveal the orange-coloured strip of cloth itself.

"T-This is…!" Mikey stuttered in shock when he saw his mask again.

"Your mask…I want you to wear it again, bro…" Leo said to finish Mikey's sentence as he gingerly took the mask out of the box and placed it in his little brother's hands.

Mikey looked down at his mask with a face that was difficult for Leo to read; even though he was surprised to see it again, doubts suddenly started to pile up in his mind on whether or not he was worthy enough to wear it once more since he felt that he was no longer deemed as a true ninja a while ago.

"L-Leo, I…I-I don't know…" Mikey said nervously whilst shaking his head slightly.

"Hey…I know that you still have some doubts about being a ninja again, Mikey, but…this mask represents who you are to all of us…" Leo countered as he placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"How?" Mikey questioned skeptically.

"Well, the colour of your mask is an obvious symbol that recognises your ability as a ninja; it represents light, joy, and creativity…and the colour of your aura is also orange, meaning that you are all of those three things put together!" Leo answered with a warm smile.

Mikey's heart skipped a beat after being surprised by Leo's words. He never thought about how the colour of each mask represented him and his brothers in terms of their personalities and skills. When he looked at his mask again, he smiled a little before he looked at Leo and spoke.

"Thanks, Leo…but how can I be the ninja that you can all depend on when it might take another few months for my wounds to heal? I'm useless to you all until then…" After finishing his last sentence, Mikey's eyes began to fill with tears.

"You're _not_ useless, Mikey…! We will always need you…and your wounds are proof that you're a strong ninja who never goes down without a fight…I know it's been hard, but your body needs to heal in order for you to get better and fight by our side again!" Leo reassured his baby brother firmly but softly with encouragement in his voice.

Leo then slowly took the mask out of Mikey's hands and gently placed it on the young turtle's face before wrapping and securely tying the mask ends at the back of his head. When he backed up a bit to look at Mikey's face, he smiled proudly at him before he spoke.

"There…Now that's the Mikey I know; a fun little brother and a ninja with a heart full of light!"

Mikey slowly stroked the fabric of his mask whilst letting those words sink into his mind. It felt like it had been years since he had last worn his mask, and he was surprisingly starting to like it. His eyes suddenly filled up with more tears, which then streamed down his face, as he sobbed before he felt Leo's strong arms wrap around him to engulf him into a hug, which the young turtle accepted as he sobbed into Leo's shoulder.

"No matter what happens between us brothers, Mikey, we will always love you…Never forget that…" Leo said soothingly to his baby brother as he rubbed Mikey's back to help comfort him.

As soon as Leo released Mikey from the hug when the young turtle was starting to settle down, Raph and Donnie entered the room to check on them both since they were taking a long time to come out, but they smiled when they saw that Mikey was wearing his mask again.

"Heya, Mike! Look at you; ya got yer mask back on!" Raph said proudly as he walked over to Mikey and wrapped an arm around his shoulders to give him a sideways hug.

"Hi, Raph…" Mikey replied softly whilst pressing his face against Raph's plastron as he accepted the hug.

"Morning, Mikey! I've brought you some orange juice…!" Donnie said as he walked over to Mikey with a cup full of orange juice with a straw in it.

"Thanks, bro…" Mikey said after being given the cup and then took a few slow sips from the straw before he put it down on the bedside table next to him.

"Has Leo already told you about Master Splinter coming back…?" Donnie asked after a moment of silence.

"Y-Yeah…I can't believe that it's finally happening, but…" Mikey answered with a smile before he frowned slightly and looked down.

"Hm? What's da matter, Mikey?" Raph questioned with a raised eyebrow when he noticed Mikey's face change.

"It's just…A-Are you sure that…Master Splinter would want to see me again?" Mikey said nervously.

"Huh? Of course he would, Mikey…! Why would you ask something like that?" Leo said with his face puzzled.

"W-Well…because he might still be…disappointed and mad at me…" Mikey answered shakily as he looked away when more tears developed in his eyes.

"Don't be silly, Mikey…! Master Splinter won't be mad at you…He loves you, remember?" Donnie countered reassuringly whilst shaking his head.

"Yeah, and I'm sure that he'll be very happy to see you and us too!" Leo said in agreement whilst wiping his little brother's tears off of his face.

"Besides, a little exercise will do ya some good!" Raph said with a smirk before he helped Mikey sit up and slowly get off of the bed.

Whilst he was standing up, Mikey flinched due to the tightness of the stitches in his plastron but he regained his composure and started to walk out of his room with his brothers following him from behind, and Raph was also assisting him by placing Mikey's arm around his shoulders and wrapping his other arm behind Mikey's back.

/

_The computer area…_

The turtle brothers arrived at the computer area and Donnie immediately went straight to work with setting up the transfer system on the main computer.

"Ok, it's ready!" He said nervously but with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Remember, Donnie; we're right here with you through every step of the way…" Leo said reassuringly as he placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder.

Donnie looked at Leo and gave him a grateful smile before he slowly reached and grabbed the lever that would turn on the cyber portal and bring back Master Splinter. His brothers then placed their own hands over his and, altogether, they pushed the lever up.

Then, the cyber portal suddenly powered on with a roar, and it began to slowly put Master Splinter together piece by piece. Two minutes later, Master Splinter was finally whole again and he opened his eyes just seconds after his body was completely reconstructed.

"FATHER!"

All but Mikey, who just looked on in awe with tears in his eyes, shouted out before Leo and Raph ran over to Master Splinter to make sure that he was ok, whilst Donnie watched on as he sighed in relief knowing that the procedure had worked.

Mikey, on the other hand, took a few steps back and looked away with nervousness and sadness showing on his face, because he didn't know how Master Splinter would react once he saw him.

When Leo and Raph brought Master Splinter closer to their other brothers, they noticed Mikey's behaviour straight away and Leo walked over to him before he spoke in a soft whisper.

"Mikey, it's ok…There's no need to be afraid…Look; father wants to see you too…"

"Michelangelo?" Master Splinter called out to his youngest son whilst feeling a bit confused as to why Mikey wasn't coming over to see him.

After being given an encouraging and reassuring look from Leo, Mikey slowly walked forward a few steps before he knelt down to Master Splinter's level, with the help of Leo, and looked at him with sad eyes as he spoke.

"D-Dad…I mean, M-Master Splinter…I-I…I'm sorry that I couldn't be the son you always wanted me to be…I shamed my family's honour and position as a ninja for what I did during our travel back to our own time…a-and because of my actions…I-I failed you once again by letting you take that blast for us…Y-You don't have to forgive me, cos…I don't deserve it…The only thing I can say is that…I'm so, so sorry for letting you down for so many years…"

By the time Mikey finished his speech, his eyes were streaming like a waterfall and he looked down to try and hide his guilt and shame-filled face from his father, who looked at him in shock after hearing his son's speech.

What happened next was something that Mikey was not expecting to happen, because instead of getting a harsh scolding from the old sensei, he felt small but strong arms wrap around him in a secure but loving hug by Master Splinter himself, surprising him in the process.

"Michelangelo, there is nothing to forgive for what happened to me. Neither you nor your brothers are to blame…You have not failed me or brought dishonour to this family, because you are our light that keeps the darkness away from us…" Master Splinter said softly with a warm smile before he felt Mikey bury his face in his shoulder and wrap his arms around him as he started to sob.

The young turtle felt so relieved after hearing those words that he just couldn't hold his emotions back any longer. He needed that reassurance since all he thought about in his own mind for so long was what negative words his father and sensei might say to him once he returned home.

"Hush now, my son…I am home now…We are all here, safe and sound…and together again…" Master Splinter then said soothingly to try and calm his youngest son down.

As soon as Mikey had calmed down and he and Master Splinter released each other from their father-son hug, Leo knelt down to their level and placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder before he spoke.

"Mikey, I think it's time to show Master Splinter what's been going on with you since we got back home from the future…"

Even though he didn't want to do it right now, Mikey knew that it had to be done, so he slowly unzipped his jacket and revealed his arms and plastron to his sensei, whose eyes went wide as he saw Mikey's arms covered in now healed scar lines as well as the thick bandages on his plastron.

"Oh, my son…what has happened to you during my absence!?" Master Splinter questioned in shock as he placed a furry hand on Mikey's cheek.

"I-I…erm…" Mikey stuttered as he was on the verge of freezing up due to the fear of confessing his actions to his father building up inside him, but then Leo stepped in and spoke for him.

"I will explain everything, Master Splinter…"

Mikey gave Leo a thankful look before he was helped up by the blue-banded turtle and they guided Master Splinter to the living room to begin their story on what had transpired after the turtles returned home from the future.

/

_30 minutes later…_

After Leo had finished explaining everything about what had happened since their return to their own time, Master Splinter looked at all of his sons with drooping ears, tear-filled eyes, and a shocked look on his face.

Even though he knew that Mikey's actions had made things more challenging for his family in stopping Viral, he could not believe that his three older sons had let out all of their anger and grief onto the youngest and made him take the full blame for what Viral did, but what was more heartbreaking to hear was that Mikey had become so depressed that he had started to painfully punish himself and then attempted to end his own life because he was led to believe that he no longer belonged in the family.

"So, you allowed your anger to cloud your eyes from the truth and attack your own brother without even thinking about the consequences of what might happen afterward?" Master Splinter questioned firmly to Leo, Raph, and Donnie who all looked down in shame and silence before they heard Master Splinter speak again.

"You are not only a team, but you are also brothers…a family…despite your differences in terms of interests and level of skills as ninjas, you are all vital to this family and must work together in order to keep each other safe from our enemies…And yet, you allowed the enemy's actions to dominate your feelings and turn you against one of your own…and it had to take a fatal near-death experience to make you realise your mistakes!"

"Father…We really can't tell you how truly sorry we are for letting this happen…We were so distraught over what Viral did to you that we just…lost it…" Donnie replied with his face full of shame.

"Stop…"

"What?" Donnie questioned when he heard Mikey's voice speaking firmly towards him.

"I said, _stop_…I don't blame you guys for how you treated me…I kinda deserved it…" Mikey answered whilst avoiding eye contact with his brothers.

"No, you didn't, Mikey…nobody deserved to be cruelly treated like how we treated you back then…because what we did to you was a cowardly act…" Leo countered firmly.

"B-But someone had to pay for what happened to us back then…! If I'd have just kept my mouth shut, then Viral wouldn't have sent us to that Shredder-filled dimension!" Mikey said in a slightly loud tone whilst shaking head in denial before he spoke again as tears developed in his eyes.

"L-Looking back now, I-I've realised how little I've done to help you all throughout the years…I deserved every insult and every scolding that you threw at me…cos I'm just-"

"Don't ya dare say that ya useless, Mikey, cos ya not!" Raph abruptly cut Mikey off when he sensed what the orange-banded turtle was about to call himself.

"But I am, Raph! Don't try to deny it, cos you said so many times before!" Mikey yelled out in denial.

Raph flinched when he heard those words, and then he looked away after being reminded of what he told Mikey ages ago.

"You're wrong, Mikey, and I know that deep down you think the same way yourself!" Leo immediately said in a firm tone, causing Mikey to look at him with a stunned look despite the slight glare he was giving him.

"Look, Mikey; I get that you're trying to take all the blame for what happened between us and Viral just to try and put an end to the blame game, but you can't do that to yourself cos you weren't the one who caused the incident in the first place!" Donnie pointed out when he sensed the reason why Mikey was still adamant that he was to blame for everything.

"Enough!" Master Splinter suddenly said loudly, causing the turtle brothers to look at him in shock before looking down with shame on their faces when they saw the stern look that Master Splinter was giving them.

But before Master Splinter could say anything, he and the three older brothers noticed that Mikey had his eyes covered with his hands before they heard him speak in a sad tone.

"Don't you get it? All I do for you guys is make our missions harder and cause your lives to be put at risk! You bros have been doing fine without me and things have been more peaceful in the lair for Master Splinter when I'm not around…but as soon as I appear, it all falls apart…S-So, in other words; all I'm good at is making everyone's lives a _misery_!"

As soon as he finished the last sentence, Mikey began to sob as tears seeped through in between his fingers.

"Mikey-" Leo was about to counter Mikey's statement when Master Splinter raised his hand, signalling his oldest son to be silent before he walked over to Mikey and placed a hand on his shoulder before he spoke.

"Michelangelo, have there ever been times where I told you that you were not capable of being a ninja with your brothers?"

Mikey froze when he heard that question before he thought back on the days when he and his brothers were being taught how to be a ninja, and it was then that he realised that there were none that included Master Splinter ever saying that Mikey was not ninja material.

"N-No, sensei…" He answered shakily.

"And have I ever said that only your older brothers were perfect and you were a failure?" Master Splinter then asked, his smile becoming warmer.

"N-No, sensei…" Mikey answered whilst shaking his head when he, again, thought back on his past memories and did not find one that involved that question.

"And finally, Michelangelo, do you truly believe that you were responsible for Viral's actions during our travel back home from the future, especially when it comes to what happened to me?" Master Splinter asked next whilst stroking his son's shoulder.

"I-I…" Mikey was about to answer that question, but instead, he stuttered and froze before he thought about it a lot more deeply than the other two questions.

He looked back at the memory of when he and his family were first attacked by Viral as they travelled back home from the future; he helped save his family from being eaten by a T-Rex with the help of a Triceratops in the Dinosaur era, and then he bravely confronted Viral during the Medieval era in an attempt to transport him and his family to a safer timeline. However, everything went downhill from there; Viral transported the Hamato family to an alternate dimension that included many of their enemies, including more than one Shredder. This resulted in Serling getting damaged, Donnie making a risky plan to get everyone out of the dimension, and Master Splinter getting blasted by the decompiler. This resulted in Donnie blaming himself first before he and his older brothers ganged up and blamed everything on Mikey for what Viral did to them.

_Viral…_

After hearing that name once more, Mikey gasped through gritted teeth and his eyes widened in anger, now realising that he had become her scapegoat in order to avoid receiving the punishment herself.

In other words; it wasn't his fault that the trip back home was a disaster…it was _hers! _

"N-No…No, I'm not!" Mikey answered firmly as he suddenly stood up with an angry look on his face, but kept his face low to avoid eye contact with his sensei and brothers as he continued talking.

"I never intended to make things harder for my family or put them in danger! All I wanted to do was to be useful, and be able to do something right for a change…but I couldn't even do that! I-I…!"

By now, Mikey's eyes were filled with tears and they streamed down his cheeks as he fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands.

"I-I made things over a thousand times worse on that day…Screwed everything up…I-I…!" He said quietly but loud enough for the others to hear as he sobbed in his hands once again. Then, a moment later;

Whack!

"Owww!" Mikey cried out after he felt a hard smack on the back of his head.

"Will ya stop doin' dat!? It's gettin' old now, bro!"

The gruff and frustrated voice of his red-banded brother was then heard next to him, causing Mikey to look up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"B-But I caused-"

"You didn't cause anything, Mikey! You did the best you could, just like the rest of us…!" Leo firmly but softly cut off his youngest brother as he knelt down to his level and wrapped his arms around him to give him a comforting hug.

"That's right…We were the ones who misunderstood your intentions back then…" Donnie said guiltily in agreement to Leo's words as he too knelt down to Mikey's level and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Master Splinter's face saddened at the scene; his youngest son was so deep in this negative void that he still continued to deny his existence and role in the family as being equally important as his older brothers. He placed a furry hand on Mikey's shoulder again and gently squeezed it to get the youngest's attention before he spoke.

"Michelangelo…Without you in our lives, our light would diminish and allow the darkness to surround us...causing the balance in our family to shift and become unstable…"

After hearing that sentence, Mikey gasped in realisation when he remembered his dream from 2 months ago.

"T-The four elements…" Mikey whispered but it was loud enough for the others to hear him.

"Huh?" "What do you mean, Mikey?" The three older brothers said with confused looks on their faces.

"I-I…I don't know if it was a dream or memory, but when I was little…Master Splinter told me that…we each represented the four elements of nature…" Mikey answered before he looked at Leo and continued talking.

"Leo is water…"

He turned to look at Raph next.

"Raph is fire…"

He then looked over at Donnie.

"Donnie is wind…"

Lastly, he pointed at himself.

"And I'm earth…"

"My son, that was exactly what I told you many years ago when you were young…I am surprised that you still remember that day…" Master Splinter said proudly to his youngest son, who blushed after hearing the last sentence.

"You know, now that I think about…if it hadn't have been for Mikey's imagination and creativity, most of the inventions and vehicles I made over the years might've never existed!" Donnie thought out loud after a moment of silence.

"You're right, Donnie…! I remember all of the good times we had back from when we were growing up because of Mikey's fun spirit…!" Leo said in agreement.

"Yeah! And his know-how in video games and comic books durin' missions really saved our shells more than once over da years!" Raph said with a smirk.

"You see, Mikey? Those are the many reasons why you're our family's light!" Leo told his baby brother whilst giving him a sideways hug.

"Yes, and our light should never be dimmed or hidden in a cave for selfish reasons…This will only allow the darkness to overpower us and destroy everything that we hold dear to our hearts…" Master Splinter said wisely.

Mikey looked at his brothers and sensei with a surprised look on his face before his eyes filled with tears again.

For so long, the young turtle believed that his own family no longer wanted him around and that he should have had his existence erased a long time ago, but after hearing those positive things about him just now from his family, all those negative emotions slowly dissolved out of his heart and mind until they faded away completely.

"T-Thank you…Thank you, so much…" Mikey said shakily before he covered his tear-filled eyes with his hands and started sobbing quietly.

Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Master Splinter all produced warm and relieved smiles on their faces after hearing Mikey's words of acceptance, before they gathered around Mikey and gave him a big family hug, which the youngest turtle greatly returned.

A moment later, Serling rushed in with clothes and suitcases piled in his arms as he spoke in an urgent tone.

"I don't mean to interrupt this touching moment, but we must be getting ready for tomorrow's wedding! Oh, and…welcome back, sir…"

"Wedding…?" Master Splinter questioned with a surprised smile.

"Yeah, April and Casey's! About time, right?" Raph said with a smirk.

"My sons, let us celebrate our reunion by joining Miss O'Neil and Mr. Jones for their special day!" Master Splinter proposed with a joyful smile.

The turtle brothers cheered to that before they all stood up and made their way towards the Battle Shell to start making preparations for their trip to Casey's farmhouse.

/

_Later in the evening…_

After arriving at Casey's farmhouse, the turtles, Master Splinter, April, and Casey gathered in the living area and talked about the eventful few months that they had experienced, before they were interrupted by a surprise visit from Casey's mother, his cousin Sid, Angel, and the Ancient One.

Once everyone was settled into their arranged sleeping areas, the turtles also retired to bed since not only was Mikey falling asleep due to his still-recovering wounds, but they also needed to rest up for April and Casey's big day tomorrow.

The older turtles helped Mikey to bed and tucked him in before they too climbed into their own beds and got themselves comfortable.

"Goodnight, my brothers…" Leo said softly.

"Goodnight, Leo…" His younger brothers replied sleepily before they all fell asleep seconds later.

_/_

_Unknown…_

Leo, Raph, and Donnie opened their eyes to find themselves in a place with a familiar feeling within it.

It was then that they realised that it was the astral plane, but this time it was filled with warmth and lightness.

As they looked around from where they were standing, they suddenly spotted something glowing brightly from a far distance from where they were standing.

"What's that?" Donnie questioned as he shielded his squinted eyes from the light's brightness.

"D'know…but it sure is bright…!" Raph answered as he did the same.

"Wait…the colour…could it be…?" Leo said quietly in thought before he made a dash towards where the glow was coming from, surprising Raph and Donnie.

"Hey, wait!" "Where are ya goin', Leo?" The younger brothers shouted out in confusion as they quickly followed their older brother from behind.

As soon as Leo got closer to the light's source, his eyes widened; right in front of him was his baby brother, who was standing with his shell facing Leo, and the centre of his body was shining brightly, though not as bright as it normally is at the moment.

"Mikey?" The blue-banded turtle called out his baby brother's name, causing the smaller turtle to jump and slowly turn around.

Once Mikey saw and recognised who it was, his eyes slowly widened before he developed a smile.

"Weo? Big brudder!" He cried out happily before he ran towards him as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Seeing this, Leo knelt down to Mikey's level with his arms opened wide just before the little turtle reached him and hugged him.

"You came back!" Mikey said as he snuggled more into Leo's hold.

"Of course I did…I made a promise, remember?" Leo replied softly whilst stroking Mikey's head.

"Heya, kiddo…" Raph was then heard in a slightly shy tone as he got closer to the duo.

"Waphie!" Mikey shouted out with joy before he reached his arms out towards the red-banded brother.

Raph was surprised at first when he saw how Mikey was reaching out to him, but he snapped out of it and immediately took the little turtle from Leo's arms into his own, giving him a brotherly hug as well.

"Heh, heh…M'glad ta see ya, lil' bro…" Raph said softly before he and Leo saw Donnie come closer to them whilst wearing an awkward face.

"Hi, Mikey…!" Donnie said softly whilst keeping a good distance between him and his immediate younger brother to avoid scaring him away.

What occurred next was something that Donnie had not expected to happen; instead of being fearful of him, Mikey's eyes slowly widened as he developed a big smile on his face.

"Donnie!" Mikey shouted out as he reached out for his immediate older brother.

Donnie was stunned after seeing this, but he immediately snapped out of it and took Mikey out of Raph's hold and engulfed him into a hug of his own.

"My little brother…" Donnie whispered as tears began to develop in his eyes.

"Me missed you, Donnie…!" Mikey said with a sad smile as he rubbed his little face on Donnie's plastron.

"I missed you too, Mikey…" Donnie replied softly as tears fell down his face before he gave Mikey a soft kiss on his little head and slightly tightened the hug.

"We've all missed you, bro…but you don't have to worry anymore, because from now on, we're sticking together…both as brothers and as a family!" Leo said before he and Raph engulf Donnie and Mikey into a big brotherly hug.

Mikey snuggled into the hug whilst releasing tears of relief and joy after hearing those words from Leo.

He and his brothers never said anything during the hug, because there were no words needed to describe how much the youngest was loved, and they can all now rest and live easy knowing that their reunited family is one step closer to healing completely.

The end.

/

**And it's finished! Sorry that it took a while for me to complete this story. Things have been very eventful at home and it caused me to be a bit distracted.**

**Hopefully, the wait was worth it for you all, and thank you for your patience in the completion of this story ;)**


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